Just Keep Swinging

I'm on a roll today with the posts, just catching up after the long weekend.

Luke loves tools. Today he wanted the hammer. So, I got the hammer, a nail and a board for us to hammer the nail into. After trying a few times and missing more than hitting, he didn't really want to hammer the nail anymore. I told him, "It's okay to miss, just keep trying." As usual, there was a spiritual lesson for me in that.

I get so afraid to miss, so tired of missing, so aggravated with not knowing "how to do it", that I quit. I give up after a few swings. In parenting, in friendships, in my spiritual walk, in stepping out in obedience to God. At what point did God tell me that I have to hit the nail on the head every time? Would I ever say that to Luke? No, I'd tell him to keep swinging, and he'll get better with practice. So what if the nail goes in crooked? I'll pull it out. So what if you miss. The nail hasn't gone anywhere. So what if you aren't sure you'll ever get the nail all the way in. You have to be willing to miss to hit it and make it go in at all. The more times you swing, the better chance you have of hitting it and the better you'll get at it. Just Keep swinging.