Two Lessons From Observing My Little Human Learn to Walk

My Daughter’s Walking Adventure

I imagine that like myself, most parents cannot wait for the moment their baby learns or starts to walk independently.

My daughter first used her playpen as a safe space to test the limits of gravity as well as practice her pulling up.

The moment she could pull herself up at 7 months, she would stand for like 20 minutes (yes, I timed her once). Later, she proceeded to holding on to edges and going around her playpen in endless circles. Before long, she would try going from one edge to the other, toppling down over and over, smashing her face into the netted mesh on the sides of the playpen. I know she took her first steps in the play pen long ago. But I am not sure that counts as walking ….

Interesting enough, when she was in the living room, she would turn into the most cautious of little princesses; holding on daintily to furniture and cruising, choosing to stick to the safety of crawling from furniture A to B.

I was ecstatic when at 10 months+, she finally got bold enough to venture a few steps between the center table and sofa. Our baby girl then started her journey proper in learning how to walk.

Lesson 1: Walk by Faith

A few days ago, I read a verse in the Bible that talks about how Christians are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). This verse made me think twice about the concept of walking because for the first time in my life, I have closely observed a little human learning how to walk.

First of all, what is faith? The Bible says that Faith is when one relies with absolute confidence and assurance even though we haven’t seen it physically with our eyes yet (Hebrews 11:1).

So how does one walk in faith?

When my baby girl started to walk, her eyes developed laser sharp focus for the closest piece of furniture at hand and toddles as fast as she can before she loses her balance and falls down splat on the marble tiled floor. How do we apply this to walking in faith?

As I meditated again on the aforementioned scriptures, I realized that I can hold on to God’s word in my faith walk like my daughter holding on to the furniture in her walking adventure. I can cling on with all hope to Scripture verses as God’s promises for me. God says He will never leave us nor forsake us.

So when I go through a situation that seems so unbearable, when I feel so overwhelmed and there is no way out, I can lift my hand up to the heavens and toddle forward in faith holding on to the scriptures for motivation to move forward through the open space of turbulent uncertainty (John 16:33).

Lesson 2: Develop Those Faith Muscles

In just a week and a half, our baby improved so much in balance, confidence and number of steps she could take at a time. She practices walking relentlessly everyday till she is exhausted or hungry. Her leg muscles are strengthened and her balance improves with each practice session.

How do we develop our faith muscles? Faith comes by listening over and over to the Word of God (Romans 10:17), spending time with God’s Word and also exercising and walking, holding onto God’s promises. Not allowing what we see in the physical to keep us from walking in Faith.

As a new momma struggling to get through different routines throughout the day on barest minimum sleep, it can be difficult to maintain our quiet time. I imagine that even veteran mommas with several children, juggling work, PTA meetings, and church ministry activities will even struggle more to find few moments of quietness.

Thankfully, we have many modern technologies and the internet to help us out with that. We can listen to Christian messages on several different platforms, from TBN, FaithTV and other satellite TV channels, YouTube, Instagram and our different apps for listening to audiobooks.

A great and seriously underutilized resource is the YouVersion Bible App. For those of us who struggle to be motivated to read through the Bible in a year, I recommend their Bible devotionals.

I have been enjoying the “Bible in one year 2019” reading plan as it has an audio read along version that’s amazing to follow when my hands are a bit busy or I am nursing and want to listen to God’s Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. It has detailed commentaries and practical applications of the assigned readings for the day and it will proceed to go through the chapters assigned but only in certain versions like NIV.

Dear mommas and sisters, as we spend more time listening to the Word of God, and walking in faith, it won’t just feel like we are stumbling through life’s challenges anymore. As our faith muscles strengthen, we should, like Peter be able to take firm bold steps over the raging stormy waters in our life, our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our Faith.

P.S: As most of us mommas struggle with exhaustion and function on little sleep, we can start walking by faith by believing God concerning his promises that God is our strength, and that we can do all things through Christ who strengths us (Philippians 4:13)