INSPIRATION FROM A TEN-MONTH OLD

When I took our grandsons home after their weekly dinner and evening with us, four-year old Milos raced into the house and immediately ran up the stairs. He stood there looking down at us. His ten-month old sister Kayra did not take her eyes off of him as she leaned on the bottom step, clutching to the second one and repeatedly lifting her little right leg, trying to propel herself up to the second step. She was unsuccessful, but that didn’t deter her! Laughingly, I warned my daughter-in-law, “You’d better watch out! One day when you turn your back, Kayra’s going to be at the top of the staircase!” A day or two later, before they had a chance to install a “childproof” gate, Mommy gave me the news: “Guess where I found Kayra? On the fourth step!” It’s hard to tell how far she would have gotten, had Mommy not found her.

Not understanding the though process of a ten-month old, I can only fabricate what was going on in her little mind. Maybe she thought, “I see my brothers run up there all the time. Mommy and Daddy go up and down the steps, too. Why can’t I? It looks like it’s one step at a time. I’m observing them. One leg up, the other leg up…I think I can do that. I’ll give it a try some time as soon as no one’s looking. Maybe it’s not so hard. It is big, but what have I got to lose?” (Unaware of the fact that she could possibly take an unpleasant tumble back down…) Kayra set a personal goal, and she is pursuing it.

I never imagined that our ten-month granddaughter would inspire me to set a goal and pursue it, but she did. My current short-term goal is to publish a book. My thought process follows the pattern Kayra may have had: “Others have successfully done that, why can’t I? It has to be one step at a time, learning from others. I think I can do that. I’ll give it a try. Maybe it’s not so hard. It’s daunting, but what have I got to lose?”

Do you have a goal? Maybe you’re wistfully thinking, “If only I could…” find better employment, lose weight, learn a new skill, save for something special, or pay off debt. Maybe it’s not so hard. Be inspired by Kayra…go for it!

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV)