Lessons Learned

I wondered what God was up to when he surprised me with my fourth child when I was 41.
I like to joke that Christa is comic relief--and she certainly has brought a lot of laughter to our family. The good kind.

But I also know that Christa's purpose isn't just to make me laugh.

She has the profound childlike ability to teach me important lessons I still need to learn.

This past weekend, Christa participated in a dance competition. Now, being the type A person that I am, I tend to go into hyper-drive about these kinds of things. Is her hair right? (Meaning: perfect) Is her outfit right? (Meaning: perfect) Are we going to be there on time? (Meaning: early)

Christa, however, is oh-so-calm about it all.

Don't get me wrong. She loves to dance. And she does it well.

She just skips the oh-my-gosh-what-am-I-gonna-do-if-it-isn't-perfect stressing out part of it.

Christa told her dad getting ready for the competition was a lot of hard work. Then, she said, you wait around backstage--and it's really boring. Then you line up with your team and you start getting nervous. But then you go out on stage and you start dancing and you have fun.

Christa focuses on the fun part of it all. She's with her friends, she's dancing--and she's having fun.

And that's why she's up on the stage. It's not the competition.

It's the chance to dance.

To have fun.

Thinking Out Loud: I'm all about persective these days. I think I've got such a mature perspective on life because of the years I've accumulated. And then my nine-year-old daughter trumps me. She reminds me that, somehow, as the years added up, I lost sight of the importance of fun. Life isn't just some competition. God created a lot of things he wants us to enjoy. And sometimes I get so caught up in doing and accomplishing, I miss out on all the fun.