Outside of the Box

My daughter is taking her first round of swim lessons this week. I say first round because I know that this is the first of many more weeks at the pool. But of course I am taking a million pictures because I want to capture every moment so that I can scrapbook it and remember it forever. By the end of the week, I'm sure I'll have over 100 pictures from swim lessons, and I will choose 6 to remember the whole week by.

This picture, though, tells the story of the week. Everytime I say to Elizabeth, "Okay, we're going to go underwater," she vigorously shakes her head "no". (This is a new development. I'm looking forward to her learning "yes" ASAP.) Being the forceful mother that I am, I then proceed to make her go underwater, and she comes up with this expression on her face. I LOVE THIS EXPRESSION! It's like, "Oh my goodness, I didn't want to do that but it was so much fun and I'm so glad I did it but don't make me do it again!"

It made me think of how my life is often like that. I am the safe one, the one who usually doesn't take any chances in life. I got straight A's, went to college, got my credential, became a teacher, married my husband, and bought a house all like I was supposed to. I go to church on Sundays, do the shopping on Mondays, clean the house on Tuesdays, and teach school on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays. I like my life like that. It is predictable, enjoyable, and, as I said before, safe. But every now and then (usually through the prompting of my riskier husband and definitely by the design of our Heavenly Father), I am pushed outside of my box. And you know what...I LOVE THIS FEELING! I love the rush that I feel when I first step out the box. I love the nervousness I experience as I anticipate what will happen that is beyond my control. I love the thrill of coming through whatever it is and realizing that everything is all right. I love it all, but I have to remind myself that I love it all when the next opportunity comes to step outside my box again.

God knew what he was doing when He paired me with Mike, my husband. He knew that Mike would put that expression on my face and cause me to say, "Oh my goodness, I can't believe I did that but it was so much fun and I'm so glad I did it!" And at 33 years old, I'm also learning to say, "And maybe I'll do it again!"