jumping in

Brenna began diving lessons last week. I let her pick one activity at the Rec. Center and that was what she wanted. The first day was great and she loved it. The second day they had her try a new dive and she got hurt a couple times when she hit the water incorrectly. So that made her frightened to try again. When the lesson was over, she was in tears saying she didn't do very well. It was a great opportunity for us to talk about the importance of trying, whether you succeed or not. And we talked about fears, and taking them to God.

She went back the next day, still nervous. I decided not to sit in the pool area, but watched through the window of the sitting area. Three times she stood at the end of the diving board, getting into diving position and then standing back up. She'd look up at me, and shake her head, mouthing "I can't." I vaccillated between encouraging Mommy -- smiling and nodding my head, mouthing, "Yes, you can" and mean Mommy -- stern countenance and motioning, "Go!". You can never tell which approach will work with her on a given day. I also prayed silently. "Lord, calm her fears and give her the courage to just jump."

Each time, the instructor enventually joined her on the board, holding her legs and encouraging her, while the rest of the students looked on. Finally, finally she dove in. She surfaced, beaming. I gave her thumbs-up, whispering a quiet, "Thank you" to Him. This happened 3 times.

On the fourth try, she stood there a couple minutes, but jumped on her own. The whole class clapped. After that, she eagerly took her turn each time and jumped with hardly any hesitation at all.

On the ride home, she told me of her thought process up on the board. First she talked to herself, saying "Just go. Just make yourself go." Then another voice would hold her back, saying, "I can't. I'm too scared." She tried a different approach, beseeching Him to calm her fears. Guess which approach worked?

It's funny, because there were of course other moms watching their kids in the class and one of my instincts was to be a bit embarrassed that my child is holding up the rest of the class. But at the end, I bet the mom whose son did flips off the board and the mom whose daughters looked like they'd been diving for years didn't feel half as proud as I did of my daughter.

Because she jumped. But more because she trusted in Him before she jumped.