Take a Chance!

No I am not
referring to the Abba song, although, yes…yes I have their Greatest Hits and
that’s before the musical came along.
A few weeks ago, I
took my kids to Target. Now, let me preface by saying I rarely take them
shopping, as I’m always in a hurry and whiners get smacked in the face.
Kidding.
But anyway, as we
were leaving Myles (8) said, “I’ll get the cart.” He proceeded to
take it to the cart holding area and shove it inside another cart, you know,
like they go.
Apparently, he had a
hard time, so Bailey (13) said, “Just give it here. I’ll do it.” And
a small eruption broke out. As I made my way over to see what the fuss was, I
realized Bailey was right and I said, “Myles, just let her do it. You’re
too little to push that cart in and I don’t have time for you to figure it
out.”
Bailey handled it
and off we went into the parking lot. My son was quiet for a few steps and then
he said, “Mom, there’s always time to take
a chance.”
In that moment,
burning hot in the parking lot, my son became the teacher.
Now, I’d like to say
I marched him back inside and let him push the cart inside the other, but I
didn’t. I’m a work in progress.
The point is, I’m
thankful that God isn’t like me. In a hurry and not willing to give me time to
figure out how to “put the cart in the holding area”. He doesn’t tell
me I’m too small or weak to accomplish anything!
Sometimes, I think I
don’t have time to pursue a dream or a task because of time. But really, it’s
fear. I’m afraid to try something new. To take a chance.
To
everything there is a season,
A time
for every purpose under heaven:
 A time to be born,
    And
a time to die;
A time
to plant,
    And
a time to pluck what is planted;
 A time to kill,
    And
a time to heal;
A time
to break down,
    And
a time to build up;
 A time to weep,
    And
a time to laugh;
A time
to mourn,
    And
a time to dance;
 A time to cast away stones,
    And
a time to gather stones;
A time
to embrace,
    And
a time to refrain from embracing;
A time
to gain,
    And
a time to lose;
A time
to keep,
    And
a time to throw away;
A time
to tear,
    And
a time to sew;
A time
to keep silence,
    And
a time to speak;
 A time to love,
    And
a time to hate;
A time
of war,
    And
a time of peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Would
you say “not having time” is sometimes a way of saying, “I’m
afraid.”
I’m over at Living By Grace, because it’s Wednesday! 🙂 Come by! 

22 thoughts on “Take a Chance!

  1. I love hearing about things your son says. Such a cool kid!

     
     
  2. Your son rocks!

    And now ABBA is in my head.

    And absolutely…"not time" is like the perfect cop-out for fear or any number of other excuses-I-don't-want-to-admit-to. 🙂

     
     
  3. Oh I loved this!!! Give that boy a huge hug!

     
     
  4. Absolutely, right on. It's amazing how clever we humans can be with our excuses & the way we put things off.

    Funny thought for today, when I was looking for an agent I kept singing this song. "Take a chance on me, honey I'm still free…" 🙂 Yeah, I know, I'm a loon.
    ~ Wendy

     
     
  5. Yep, as soon as I read the title, I started humming the song in my head. And yep, I only know the song because of the musical, Mamma Mia. ABBA who?

    But seriously brilliant here. I so often don't take the time to do things. I've never thought about it being fear, just efficiency. But maybe deep down there IS a kernel of fear. Perhaps I've just gotten good at hiding that fact, from others and myself.

     
     
  6. Now I've got Abba singing in my head:)

    LOVE THIS! That verse is one of my main verses for this year…'Time' was my word. And I completely agree, it's not always busyness that holds me back, yeah, it's fear but busyness is a safe distraction to use so I don't have to face my fear.

    GREAT POST!

     
     
  7. Love this, Jess. I love when our kids teach us. Powerful. "There's always time to take a chance."

     
     
  8. ABBA!! Any chance to sing an ABBA song is a great chance to take! I have their greatest hits CD too.

    Loved your post. Isn't it great when our kids become our teachers? Well, sometimes it isn't so great, but most times it is!!

    Yes, sometimes I use the excuse of not having time for something as a way to cover up my fear of failure. A sad truth indeed.

     
     
  9. This story sounds all too familiar – it's much too easy to just say "Let me do it!" because we get impatient! Yes, I'm thankful God isn't like that. And yes, I think sometimes I use "not enough time" as a substitute for "I'm afraid." Good word!

     
     
  10. Kids are amazingly insightful.

    I love that God has all the time in the world – that He never rushes us or tells us we can't do something. He might say no from time to time, but it's not out of fear or being rushed for time, it's usually because the thing we want isn't best for us. Great post, Jessica!

     
     
  11. Children are amazing with the lessons they teach us. Yes, saying we don't have time often is a code phrase for we're afraid. It gets us out of having to face our fear. But I'm humbled and comforted by the fact that God sees us as His children. He watches over us all the time, so we don't have to live in fear.

     
     
  12. Out of the mouths of babes.

    And now I've got the song Turn, Turn, Turn stuck in my head.

     
     
  13. I love, love, LOVE this post, Jessica. Your willingness to be a student in the hands of your 8 year old son's teaching reiterates how open you are to hear the wisdom of God regardless of the source. Myles needs to write a book. Seriously!

     
     
  14. This is FABULOUS. And so very, VERY true!

     
     
  15. I would have to say that many times I have sinned out of simple impatience. There is no need for the hurry that I always feel that I am in. Great post.

     
     
  16. Hey everyone! I wanted to pop in and say thanks so much for the comments! I've been swamped with getting ready for family to come into town and my son's 8th birthday party this weekend!

    Hope you all are having a great week!

     
     
  17. Yesssss! I love ABBA! And that song is my favorite.

    And I think you are on to something. Saying you don't have the time is just another way to put off something you are afraid of. If we don't try, we don't fail. 🙂

     
     
  18. Like you, I have learned so, so much from my children.
    And yes, I do believe that the words "I'm afraid" are often disguised as "I don't have time" or "I'm tired" or "Let someone else more qualified do it" or "I better not — I'll probably mess it up."

     
     
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