"The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue wings.
The happy earth looks at the sky
And sings."
Joyce Kilmer, Spring

Welcome to the March newsletter. March is so very welcomed, especially after the winter we’ve had here. It ushers in the spring and welcomes the migratory birds. The yard may be messy with all of that melted snow but the word “melted” makes it worth each slip and slide in the mud. I can’t tell you just how tired I am of being cold.

WHAT IF

All too often, when a person reaches a certain age, they reflect upon their lives and give a deep sigh. The deep sigh is for the risks they never took getting to that day of reflection.

In 1981, a remarkable writer, Shel Silverstein wrote a book of children’s poems titled, A Light in the Attic. In it, he included a poem called, What if. The child lies down in bed and all the negative thoughts creep into his brain:

Last night, while I lay thinking here,
some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
and pranced and partied all night long
and sang their same old Whatif song:
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?

It’s a long comical poem and at the end, just as the child seems to be okay, the Whatifs creep in the next night.

I think every one of us has the Whatifs partying all night long in our brains when we are children. As adults, we are supposed to be strong and like to think of ourselves as risk takers, but are we?

Some of the things we call risks are just bits of stupidity dressed up as bravery; bungee jumping, sky diving and getting in line for the biggest shot of cheap booze and tattoo needles. All are man-made dares with safety nets and warning labels. Once they are past, all that’s left are bills to be paid in old age in the form of arthritis and liver pains and pictures you really don’t want to share anymore that have drifted to places better left unmentioned. That’s when a different what if haunts you; what if I hadn’t wasted so many real opportunities in life?

Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
Psalms 55:5

Those Whatifs can ruin a life or they can make you stronger. The choice is yours. Whatifs can make you act like a lemming and do what the lame in spirit dictate. What are the motives of those lame dictators? Will your risks matter to them or more so, to your children?

The risk takers that impress me the most are the parents and the mentors that erase the Whatifs songs in the minds of young children. They take risks every day that many are afraid to face. They work more than one job if needed and they tuck the kids in at night. They pray together and set an example as Christians. That’s a lot harder than it sounds but instead of bills to pay in your old age, there are rewards.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Just as children look up to parents for guidance and comfort, adults turn to Jesus when the Whatifs sing their songs in their ears at night. It’s okay for the kids to know that Mom and Dad hear the Whatifs songs from time to time. It’s how the adults deal with doubts, fears and Whatifs that matter to the kids.

Fear is a powerful emotion that gets passed on to children, often without knowing it. They wonder what if the parents get divorced or what if I die before I wake. Without faith they won’t have a prayer; just fear from the Whatifs. They’ll grow up stunted in faith if the parents pass on fear. The Whatifs will have won from the start.

Living a life in faith is a lot tougher than those manmade risks but faith is not just taught; it’s contagious. Let your kids see you on your knees in prayer at some time in their lives. They’ll know from where real strength comes.

When it’s their turn to pass something on, they will take a leap of faith instead of following the lemmings off a bungee platform. Instead of hearing Whatif songs at night, their kids will hear “I am” and know there is nothing to fear.