Life with Abandon

My kids are constantly covered in scrapes, bruises and “owies”. Right now Delaney has a big blister on one hand from her monkey bar madness that encompasses every recess. Kennedy has a scraped knee from running full speed across a parking lot in cowgirl boots. Don’t even get me started on the rug burns from wrestling matches with their friends at church….

I giggle a little bit when I look at them because each wound is a sign of a life lived to the fullest with little regard for avoiding pain. Although I’m all about consequences, I think we could all learn a lot from kids. If we are focused on Jesus and living within the guardrails of His Word, we should go at life with abandon! We shouldn’t be afraid of getting hurt by life and walking around with a few war wounds. My kids love playing too much to worry about what “might” happen to a knee that is going to heal anyway. The reality is that somewhere along the lines of adulthood, we make an unconscious decision to play it safe…just in case.

Paul, in the Bible, spent many days in prison and was beaten and tortured throughout his life in the name of Jesus…it makes my kid’s scrapes look pretty pathetic…but he went down in history as a world changer. He walked in the amazingness of God’s miracles and lived a life that few of us can even hope to live. But it came with plenty of scrapes, bruises, and owies…ones that I am sure Paul didn’t regret on his deathbed.

What is keeping you back from living to your greatest potential? Are you afraid of people laughing? Are you afraid of failure? Are you so scarred from your past that you are frozen from the idea of opening up your life to be scarred again? Whatever your fear is, shut it out. Go after the prize, go after your passion, and buy a box of bandaids…