Porcelain Dolls

When I was a child I was fearless on the playground as i'm sure many of you can relate. I'd ride the dangerous metal merry go round where other kids threw up from going too fast, jump down from high areas, slide down the tree trunks that were actually meant to hold up the structure so that I ended up ripping my spandex sliding down, and dare to skip not just 4 but 5(!!! I was pretty badass as a child no?) bars on the monkey bars which left me on the ground on my back in pain for a good 5 minutes. When I did get hurt I would whine a little, maybe even cry a few tears, but then i'd just get over it and keep playing. For some reason as a kid you feel invincible. Growing up you realize how fallible you actually are. I used to never be afraid of getting hurt. I was a naive young child with a no holds barred thing going on. Nowadays, we have second thoughts going into things, into love and relationships, into people, into career fields, into trying new things, into missions trips, the list could go on. We deny ourselves opportunities and ambition because we're afraid of the unknown. Or maybe we've already experienced the worst of things and don't want to go through it again. We could say that we've just become more mature while weighing out the costs and benefits, but why does it feel like that's just an excuse and we're actually just scared?

What holds us back is pain and failure. Yet if we allow ourselves to look past that, we see that all pain does eventually heal and failures never become failures as long as you don't give up. These all build character and are lessons we learn. With God's love, you will always heal as long as you give it time and you allow yourself too. And with God's grace and love, your identity ultimately lies in Christ and you're not defined by anything else. So why not take risks? I see it as a fair opportunity cost to take if you look at what it is you want to achieve. I think it's well worth it. So I encourage you to find the kid in you and to not be scared to take those risks and live life.

To be honest, i'm not saying I have this completely down either, but what I do know is that I rather live a full life with scars than be a porcelain doll.