and she walks...

As I step out of the shower, I hear them coming down the hall. 

He has a I-know-something-you-don't-know-but-I-will-carry-it-to-the-grave look on his face. 

I know in an instance.  Call it mother's instinct, but I know.  I feel it in every fiber of my being.  She walked while I was in the shower.  I had missed it.  But, instead of robbing me of the joy of her first steps, he places her on the floor and says, "Let's practice walking and see if you can do it on your own, sweet girl."


And there they are. 


Tentative.  Unsure.  Unbalanced. 

Her first steps.  At the foot of our bed.  Tears flow like a heavy down pour. 

I am proud and excited and sad all in the same instance.  It is almost too much to bear.  Almost.  This outpouring of love I feel for my daughter.  The raw emotion that comes with her accomplishments.  The feeling that my heart has taken up residence on the outside of my body. 

"Life is a series of steps. Things are done gradually.

Once in a while there is a giant step,

but most of the time we are taking small,

seemingly insignificant steps on the stairway of life."

~ Ralph Ransom

Her steps are small.  She is still not quite sure of this new trick.  This walking thing.  She reaches for us.  Our hands.  Our arms.  She is searching for security.  Something, someone to steady her.

And I feel it.  The prayer, the plea bursting wide open out of my heart. 

Father, please be the hand she seeks when she needs to be steadied.  Please be the security she longs to seek.  Father, teach me to point her to You.  Allow me to find my security in You always so that she can learn from my steps.  

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. 

He delights in every detail of their lives."

~Psalm 37:23

May she seek You for direction and may she follow You in all of her steps.  Delight in her, Father, for she is Yours. 

"...for we walk by faith, not by sight-"

2 Corinthians 5:7

May she be grounded in her faith and learn to walk by it.  May she be able to discern the difference between Your ways and the ways of the world.  May she take mighty steps to further Your kingdom.  May she grow bold to what You have called her to. 

"...to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

Micah 6:8



For every step ahead of her, may she walk humbly with You.  Amen.