He CAN do it!

I have been given a humbling and powerful lesson by my son this weekend.  Yesterday when we were at the store intending to buy groceries for the week, we felt a strong feeling to get Dylan a bike with half of our budgeted food money.  Both O and I were a little tenuous about how long it would take our boy to be able to ride the bike unassisted but we felt such a strong feeling that we got it anyway.  Of course, I tried to buy training wheels but papa said "No!  He can do this and I will help him do this without training wheels."  This made me nervous.  Our boy doesn't have the best balance.  We bought him a bike a few years ago with training wheels already attached and the poor boy fell off of it over and over.  He falls off of his scooter, he falls off of the side walk, he will sometimes randomly fall down for no apparent reason.  I was certain that we would be making a trip to the emergency room.  Yesterday, D was nervous but he had faith in his papa.  They practiced and practiced until O couldn't do it any longer.  This morning before 6am, D was at it again and this time he was able to do it totally unassisted.  I was so impressed!  But it was time and he was ready.  It brought to mind how this applies to parenting in general.  You want your children to succeed and if you're like me, you may even encourage them to try sooner than is right and they will fail.  Miserably. Then you  can't imagine how  your child will ever find success. That's why we must keep ourselves in tune with our Heavenly Father.  He knows the beginning from the end and he will help you know how to help your children at the right time for them.  Today, I am certain that our boy will be successful at everything that is in his best interest.  We will love him and encourage him, and allow him to grow but most of all, we will gift him with faith in his capacity to succeed and listen more closely for the clues that come from him and Heavenly Father for the right time to act.