I Wanna Be Like Mac

Today is the start of track season for our daughter, Mac, and this morning she sent me a picture of this date last year – it was a picture of her headed out the door for her first ever track meet.  I commented on how far she has come in the last year, and we went on about our morning routine.  As she headed out the door today, to her first track meet of the season, she turned back around and said, “Hey!  Aren’t you going to take my picture?”  So, I snapped a few pictures to freeze this moment in time and she headed on her way.

After she was gone, I stopped and looked at the picture I had just taken and the picture from this day last year.  The girl in those two pictures barely looks the same to me.  Her hair is the same, her outfit is nearly identical, her gorgeous smile is the same…but this year’s picture shows a young lady that has grown exponentially since last year.  Maybe nobody else would notice but I couldn’t stop staring at the young lady looking at the camera this morning.

Mac has always been our quiet, go with the flow, hardworking, people pleasing, organized and precise child.  Mac lives boldly in a fairly black and white world, where right is right and wrong is wrong.  She isn’t one to push boundaries or break rules, she rarely talks with a harsh tone and is always willing to jump in to help.  Mac makes parenting easy.  Mac is a very solid, dependable foundation in our home.  But the best part about Mac is that she has become fiercely brave, and that is what I thought about this morning as I stared at that picture.  

I have always been one that’s afraid to try new things – I don’t think it’s a fear of failure that holds me back, but stepping out of my comfort zone is definitely not my strongest trait.  Even as a kid, I would tend to follow the footsteps of my sister – take the path that had already been walked, stay where things were safe and predictable – even if it wasn’t the right path for me.  I have spent so many nights praying that God would help me figure out my path, all while knowing I may not be brave enough to follow that path even if He makes it clear.  I have prayed that my kids would be stronger than me when it comes to that.  Over the past year we have watched Mac join new clubs, switch sports, try a new sport, get a new job and even sign up to attend a leadership on her own this summer.  So far, each new leap of faith has brought incredible growth for her, and it was apparent as I looked at her picture this morning.  Mac is flourishing, and it’s not simply because Nels and I made a path for her, it’s because she isn’t afraid to step out on a limb and try something new.  Nels always tells us that “comfort is the enemy of progress” and as I stared at Mac this morning, it occurred to me that she embodies that saying as well as anyone I know.  Mac is the young lady that I wish I would have been brave enough to be nearly 30 years ago. 

So, what are you holding back from trying today?  I know Mac would tell you to you put your fear aside, put your head down, and bravely charge forward!  Life is too short to stay on the beaten path!  Go be like Mac today!