Rock Solid Family

A Perfect Record?

I could also label today's blog training wheels part two. You may be wondering how Ruth is doing without training wheels. It's been one week since we took her training wheels off. And so far you may be amazed that she hasn't fallen off her bike while riding yet. How could she have such a good record? When Joshua first had his off, he was falling everyday until he got the hang of it, and now he can ride perfectly. The only time he falls off now is if he is trying a new stunt.

So is Ruth a better rider than her brother? Not exactly. You see you don't fall down, if you're not even trying to ride your bike. Every evening I ask her, "Did you ride your bike at all today?" Her answer each day has been, "Not really." Upon deeper inquiry as to the reason she hasn't been riding, I found out that she was nervous, because she was shakey on her bike, and was afraid she might fall. I told her that if she would practice riding and ride everyday, that soon she wouldn't shake at all.

Yesterday, I went outside and insisted that she put her helmet on and get on her bike. She did, slowly. I told her that I needed to take the trash down to the dumpster and that I wanted her to ride down there with me and Joshua. So she climbed on her bike and rode. She didn't fall, although she almost did around the curve.

The reason she almost fell was because she quickly threw her feet down, stopped, and walked her bike to the dumpster on tip-toe. I asked her why she stopped and didn't just keep riding. She said that she couldn't turn without falling. I don't know how she came to that conclusion, since she never tried. So I insisted that she not stop on the way back. I told her to take the turn slowly without stopping. She did and sure enough she didn't fall down at all.

When we arrived back to our home, she smiled and said, "Mom, I turned and rode all the way here without stopping, and then I turned again!" I told her that she did very well, and that I wanted her to ride her bike more, so that she won't be afraid of it. She assured me she would.

It's amazing how often I've been afraid of making a mistake. There is a lot, I'm sure I miss out on, because I'm to afraid to try. God gives clear instructions for our lives in his Word. Why do we get scared to even try to do His will? Sure, if you don't try you won't fall down, but you don't get very far either. So does that mean, by not trying you've already fallen?

James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."