When my daughter was about two, we went to a mule roundup. This was a completely new experience for me, being a city girl. Mini me loves horses, and a friend of ours had a mule whose stomach was six feet off the ground. The thing was huge. As we watched her, she got right on it, and rode it alone…absolutely no fear.

This morning, I was in bed with the baby, and watched him scale and crawl the mattress, attempting to get to something from my night table. I hooked one of his little ankles, which frustrated him, as he tried to get to his goal. As a mother, I just couldn’t let him fall. I let him crawl closer to the edge, with my hand still around his ankle, and he went along with a determined confidence. I let him go over the edge a little, to see when I pulled him back if his fear of falling over the edge would prevent him from going back to the end of the bed. No such luck, he did went again, faster– with no fear, tried his best and reached to get what he wanted…and did.

This had me thinking…how many times have I attempted something that seemed completely nuts or undoable by others, but completely attainable to me? It made me realize how close I have come to “the edge of the mattress”, reaching for something on life’s night table, and God has been kind enough to hold my ankles. Despite self-doubt, the fear of falling and failing, tirekickers and dreamstealers, I have still gone to the edge and tried my best. Sometimes…with no fear.I believe God puts obstacles in our way to materialize to us how bad we want what it is that we are reaching for. Sometimes, those obstacles are warning signs, and other times, they are a blatant, flat out NO. We all have to have the wisdom to know the difference. But no matter what the situation or outcome is, there is a lesson to be learned and a joy to be had. Do we fail to try or try (only) to fail?

The quote by Marianne Williamson, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”, rings true. Is it enough to just think it or dream it? Can it be as equally fulfilling to try and miss, as it is to try and attain, than to do neither and think of what could have been?

I know that a lot of my attempts were only possible because I felt God’s presence (either subtly or powerfully) as I began. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. The whole books of Proverbs and Philippians are powerful as they tell us to fear nothing, to rejoice, think positive thoughts, and acknowledge God’s goodness and presence. I realize not all of my readers share my faith– and that’s fine. 🙂 But we are all threaded in one common spool of hopes and dreams. I dare you to try. I inspire you to be fearless. DO IT. Whatever it is that is on your mind today that you have been apprehensive about it…DO IT. The spotlight has always been on, it’s just waiting for you to step into it. So show up and SHOW OFF!

What would you do, if you knew you could not fail?