Thread by @titoidakula

When my daughter was 18 months old, she figured out how to get out of her crib. Everytime we put her in it, she found her way out. She'll turn up at our room grinning with pride because she "escaped". It was frustrating but we got used to it. Everything was okay until one day...

I was downstairs in the kitchen and heard a BANG! A few seconds later, I heard TEARS and it was all I needed to know that our special climber had fallen during one of her escape missions. I ran upstairs &was relieved because the fall wasn't too bad. Her leg had simply slipped.

It was more the shock and the unexpected nature of the fall that had her CRYING so loudly. It was understandable. Of course I gave lots of hugs and kisses until she calmed down. Needless to say, she refused to climb out of her crib after that.

Her crib is big and she still uses it. So for a whole year, she never took the risk of climbing out of the crib. Not because she didn't know how to but because the trauma from her previous fall had her locked in a prison of fear. I tried many times but it was always a NO!

I have thought about this often. How traumatic experiences keep us bound. We don't become all that we have been created to be because the fear of failure or pain is overwhelming. We hide our potential and pretend we don't know it exists because it is safer that way.

At some point, we have to decide: "Would I rather try & fail or stay where I am and never be more". God has placed so much in our hearts but like the children of Israel we let the fear of the unknown stop us. We just keep thinking "what if it doesn't work?" But what if it does?

Today, my daughter climbed out of her crib again after over a year of being too afraid. She was ready! I noticed she climbed with a bit more caution & with a new strategy. So maybe the fall was the lesson she needed to do things "better". Her fall was not so bad after all.

I don't know what you have experienced or what you are dealing with but I feel I should remind you, that what does not destroy you can only make you stronger. It is time for you to face your fear and try again. It'll either work out brilliantly or you'll learn something.

For that person who God is calling to take bold, scary, steps of Faith! Don't let past disappointment, trauma or even "failure" make you doubt that God is on your side and he is with you. Greater is he who is in you than anything in this world. It's time to go again!

P.s This is also for me. I haven't been able to write anything for weeks and it got harder to try. I literally wrote this because I had to accept that it won't be perfect but I didn't want my fear to stop me. Praying this helps someone!