Do It Afraid

This post was much longer and thought provoking the first time, before it vanished, that is.  So now you get the short and sweet, condensed version.  Probably that's good news.  :)

Last Thursday we walked down to the street festival that our town holds once a month during the summer.  Amanda got started right away helping to handout goodies at Uncle Nathan's booth.

 Avery was happy to stay dry.

 After face painting, en route to the bouncy house, we came across this rock wall.  Before I knew what was happening Amanda was strapped in and heading UP.

Shaun was in her ear cheering and encouraging and coaching.

Very quickly she worked over the two people overseeing it.  At one point she asked one of them if he'd go up with her.

 She kept making it to a certain point and then felt like she had reached her limit.  She'd stop and say she couldn't do it and eventually repel down.  Finally, on the trip she knew was her last time, she went right up, right past the spot where she'd stopped in fear before.  She made it all the way to the top and rang the victory bell.

Amazing, inspiring!  When Shaun relayed the story to me later of her fighting through her fear and uncertainty (I'd gone home with Aiden after her first several attempts...poor boy's blood is still thin and he was shaking), I had all kinds of risk/fear/failure quotes flashing through my mind.  SO many good ones.

One that I say to myself on a regular basis is Do it afraid.  But to see it played out so vividly with Amanda's wall climbing experience was incredible.  She fought through her fear and is a better person for it.  Avery stayed close to the ground, as I would have done, but what profit is there in that?

 "Do not be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. What if they are a little course, and you may get your coat soiled or torn? What if you do fail, and get fairly rolled in the dirt once or twice. Up again, you shall never be so afraid of a tumble."-- Ralph Waldo Emerson


"I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not."-- Lucille Ball

To every life there comes the question of the heart
For extraordinary pain
Struggle greets you on the mountains that you climb
A war within the soul - for every step you gain

Remember when the winds of sorrow strike you down
And leave you hopeless and afraid
The proof of battle is the wounds that you will bear
The scars that build you strong for the journey that you make

CHORUS:
There's not a victory without a fight
There's not a sunrise without a night
There's not a purchase without a cost
There's not a crown without a cross

God will guide you when you cling to His hand
Strength will find you when you learn how to stand
To perserve to the end

~Michael English