Elena's Leap of Faith - DIP 6

Elena might still jump if I'm not there. It would be a painful 5 foot tumble if I didn't catch her. Yet every time, she leaps beaming from the play-structure certain of her safety. I could learn a thing or two from her.

Elena, near her leap, but distracted by a communal park toy!

Elena, like most little kids, loves to get into loops at playgrounds. She will start to do the same thing over and over again until something different catches her eye. Today there was a set of four stairs that she started to climb up and down, up and down, up and down. It was like a stair climber workout for a baby. Shockingly, I didn't know she could go up (or down) stairs on her own. She can!

Another loop is with the big slide at Javits playground, you know, the part designed for 5-12 year olds, but enjoyed by my 1.5 year old. She will scamper up the steps and then wiggle her way to the top of the slide, slipping down the smooth metal with another smile on her face.

Elena's leap of faith is on the play-structure in the back on the left - she jumps off the dark brown arched spot!

The dangerous loop (at least the one that feels most dangerous to me) is the leap of faith loop. Elena run-waddles over to the middle structure and again scampers up the steps. Then she gets a certain look of determination on her face. It's the face I imagine myself having if I needed to jump over a wall of significant height. Then, bypassing three different slides, she baby-sprints towards the end of the structure and launches herself into my arms.

She loves it. I love it.

She looks very alive. I feel very alive.

Then we do it again. Depending on which side I run around (and I need to run to make it there in time to catch her), I'm either jumping over slides, or high stepping through kid inspired fitness equipment bolted to the soft playground padding. My pace quickens and I find myself on high alert. A false step and tripping would not only be painful for me, but I'm not sure what Elena would do at the end of her runway.

Would she stop, not seeing me there? Would she even slow down? Would she imagine she's her brothers and just jump anyway? Fortunately, I haven't tripped yet. And I hope we get to do this again and again. There will one day be an age where she's no longer interested in jumping into daddy's arms, or when a full sprint across that structure would lead to a metal clothesline worthy of America's Funniest Home Videos. While there will be unique joys in that season, I'll miss these moments.

I'm strongly tempted to pivot now to a reflection on faith, risk-taking, and trusting God will catch you when you take kingdom driven leaps. However, I think I'll leave it at deeply enjoying my daughter flying through the air for a brief moment before solidly wrapping her little chubby arms around my neck. We both exhale - fully alive in the moment.