According to Webster the word fear means a painful emotion of passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger, apprehension, anxiety; alarm; or dread. I have been thinking a lot about fear lately... rather I have been thinking a lot about the idea of being fearless. Rhian seems to be pretty fearless. Lately, I can't even turn my back or blink my eyes because she is climbing and then no joke... just stepping off of chairs, couches, steps you name it. At first it frustrated me because in my little mind I couldn't comprehend how she didn't get how dangerous it could be... then it hit me as I thought about it further, even as I typed the definition of fear... she isn't afraid because she has no expectation of what danger she could put herself in. She is full of trust, excitement and adventure without knowing what danger could come out of stepping off of chairs. It also hit me that that's what being a parent means... there will be so many times in life that she won't know or understand the danger of some things and it is our God given role to help protect her from danger. The physical danger now of getting hurt and later in life the danger/ protection of decisions. I shouldn't be frustrated because she doesn't get it... she's not entirely supposed to. That's what we are here for. Not to take that life and fearlessness away but help guide her to safe decisions and a healthy awareness of her surroundings.
