Celebrating Baby Steps

The baby starts walking. We encourage her. We hold her hands. We celebrate every step. We are so proud of her. When she falls, we are there, encouraging and supporting whatever she desires. If she doesn’t want to get up and try again, we don’t force her. If she does, we encourage her. What if we remembered this image in all our interactions?

Becoming grown up doesn’t mean we lose our need for encouragement and instead wish to continually be told how to live and how to become better. Some people don’t know how to encourage people where they are. To stay with the analogy, they would tell the baby she should walk faster. “Did you try different shoes? Maybe you need to practice a bit more. It’s time to stop holding people’s hands. You can do it alone. You don’t need their help. It’s good that you made that achievement, but you need to keep going. That wasn’t enough. What is next?” We would never do this to a child. We would never expect them to have it all together. Yet, once a person looks like an adult, we sometimes expect them to be walking their life journey alone, with no help or encouragement.

We are all in different seasons of our lives. Even if it looks like my season matches yours, I walked a unique path to this moment that have made me different. I have history you may not know about. I have my own past achievements you may not have seen. You don’t know all that has gone before this moment. Please take me as I am and don’t try to fix me. I know where I can be better. I know all the areas of my life that may not be as good as they once were. I need to be loved and accepted just as I am.

I may look like a pro, but I am still taking baby steps on my journey. Honestly, I’ve never walked this path before. I’m learning as I go. I’m learning when to walk, when to run, and when to rest. I’m learning how to look in the mirror and love who I see there. She’s new today. She wasn’t here yesterday. I accept and welcome her just as she is. I only have her today. Tomorrow, she will be new and it will be time to love and accept her once more.

I hope I haven’t done this to people. I hope I haven’t expected them to run when they are learning to walk. I hope I haven’t forgotten to celebrate their achievements, and wondered about what was next. It is common. How many times are graduates asked what is next? The couple gets married and everyone is asking about the honeymoon, the house, or when the baby will come. How many times do new parents get asked when the next baby is coming? What if we just celebrated the step we just took? What if we just loved one another in the space we are in? I think we would all feel much more loved, encouraged, and accepted all the time.

May we celebrate all that we have achieved today. May we remember to encourage those who feel stuck with love and acceptance. We love them even if they stay just where they are. May we feel loved and accepted just as we are, encouraged to grow and move forward, but accepted either way.