First Steps

I was going down the hallway at our church this morning toward the auditorium after getting a cup of coffee in the kitchen. I was following a young mother and her daughter. She had her daughter’s hand and they were walking up the hall. It was obvious that her daughter was just beginning to learn to walk, as she was rather awkward, even though her mom was holding her hand. As they got to the foyer, mom stopped and pointed out someone in the area (I think Grandpa) to the little girl.
As Grandpa knelt down and beckoned, Mom encouraged her daughter to walk toward him without her help. The girl got down on all fours and started over toward him. Mom corrected her by standing her upright. Taking the cue, the toddler walked over. I didn’t think too much about it for just a second, but as the toddler made it about ½ way to Grandpa, Mom started clapping and jumping up and down in obvious delight.
I went on by, but as I went, I heard her exclaim that her girl had just started taking tentative steps this week, and that this was by far the longest distance she had walked. As I walked to my seat in the auditorium, I thought about Mom’s display of joy and the toddler’s learning of a new thing.
There are a lot of lessons here. Yes, I know. I like to find life lessons in the seemingly everyday things that happen. Maybe I stretch a bit. Maybe I should have just enjoyed the moment and not thought about greater truths. But I’m seldom like that. I enjoy innocent and sweet times such as this, and like to work through them.
I think the first thing that came to mind as I thought about what I had seen was the fact that I was in church. I thought of God possibly exhibiting a similar kind of delight as we, his children, take the tentative first steps toward whatever it is that He has in store for us, whatever that may be. We stumble, we are awkward, and we don’t do it very well. But because our efforts show that we are growing into maturity, the Father is delighted with our progress and encourages us to continue.
I also thought of Grandpa. I doubt that the girl would have come to me. She didn’t know me, nor did I know her. We had no relationship. But Grandpa did. His encouragement to her as she stepped toward him, knowing she would receive a welcoming hug and assurance of personhood from someone she knew, made all the difference. Just as God was in Mom, God was also in Grandpa, encouraging, giving assurance, loving, validating. Her going to him was an exercise in immutable trust and childlike faith.
The next time you take the first tentative steps in a direction you believe God would have you go, think of this girl, the Mom, and Grandpa. It may make your journey just a bit easier.