Overcoming Fears and Just Going for It!!

The other day, I was at the park with the girls and I was watching Calyssa play on the toys.  I noticed that she was very fearful of the little holes, which she had no reason to fear since they were much smaller than she was.  She cautiously crawled, and later walked, across each of these tiny holes to get to the big huge slides.  She didn’t fear the slides at all and went right down.  I think she knew how much fun she would have on these slides either because she had been down them before or because she had watched her sisters go down and knew they loved it!  Each time she would carefully climb across all of the little holes and then just go right down the slides without hesitation!  She would fly down the slide and I would catch her because she was so little.

I started thinking about how this was very much like my baby brother, Joe.  His whole life, he has had so many little fears to overcome- bees, dogs, etc.  He would carefully crawl across each little hole, fearing what might happen.  Even with the slow start, he was after all the baby of the family, and we all protected him more than we probably should’ve, he really started to mature in the last few years.  He developed a lot of his talents (piano, voice acting, drama, etc.) and really took them to a new level during his senior year.  It was pretty neat to watch him shine.  He also took his testimony to a new level during that same time, with the help of things like Camp Helaman.  He watched as his older brothers went on missions and put his papers in.  He still seemed a bit careful about things and a bit hesitant.  I feared that he wouldn’t actually go.  However, my Mom said that when they got to the airport, it was just like Calyssa on the slide.  He just went without any hesitation.  Due to the way that he cautiously “crawled across each of the tiny holes,” I worried that he would have trouble going down the slide…  but he didn’t.  Maybe it is because he knew what blessings awaited him, or maybe it was because he had seen his brothers go and knew how much they loved it.  Or maybe just because he knew that it was the right choice to make.  Whatever the reason, I know that it took him a lot of faith to overcome his fears and to go on a mission and I am so proud of him for making that choice.  He is going to be an incredible missionary!