The Single Woman’s Dash of Sass: You Have to Let People Make Their Own Mistakes

Quote of the Day:

“Letting ppl you love make their own mistakes isn’t setting them up to fail…it’s setting them up to do things on their own.” ~Unknown

“When real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep on walking.” ~Carrie Bradshaw

The Single Woman Says:

I spent this past weekend in the Smoky Mountains with my family…and one day we took my nieces ice skating. Emma (who is 9) had only been ice skating one other time in her life and Livi (age 5) had never been. While Livi was happy to cling to us the entire time to keep her footing, Emma is getting to the age where she’s starting to spread her wings and do things on her own, without assistance. She wanted no part of being babied or holding hands. As her aunt and as someone who literally watched both girls make their grand entrance into the world, it was hard to just sit back and idly watch while Emma stumbled and skidded across the ice. It’s in my nature to hover and make sure my nieces are always safe and comfortable and taken care of…but while I could skate close to Emma to help her recover if she crashed and burned, I couldn’t do anything to actually stop the crashing and burning. As I watched her find her footing on the ice, it started to hit me what a great metaphor the situation was for life. We can love our friends and family through their mistakes but we can’t stop them from making them. To step in and prevent the possibility for them to fall also prevents the potential for them to fly. Making mistakes is the only way people learn. It’s the only way people figure out which paths to take and which ones to avoid. It’s the only way people find their way in life. It is often the biggest messes that lay the groundwork and build the foundation for our greatest successes. Stepping in the way of someone’s stumble only sets them up to take a bigger fall on down the line. True love is taking a step back and letting them figure it out for themselves, even if ultimately they make the wrong decision. It often takes the wrong decisions to let us know where we need to make revisions. Emma fell down a few times on the ice that day (and after one REALLY big fall, got to her feet and said “That was AWESOME!”) but the bold and brave little girl who stepped off the ice that day was not the same timid, cautious girl afraid of falling that stepped ON. Why? Because she learned that even when you fall down in life, you get back up, dust yourself off, and try again. And you get a little better with every try.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Something wonderful is on the horizon
Life doesn’t always look the way we want it to look. In Mandy’s upcoming book, Turn Toward the Sun: Releasing What If and Embracing What Is, you’ll find encouragement to live in the moment, sit with your experiences, and trust God with the unknown.
Preorder from Baker Book House for 40% off and free shipping!*
*US shipping only
Something wonderful is on the horizon
Turn Toward the Sun CoverLife doesn’t always look the way we want it to look. In Mandy’s upcoming book, Turn Toward the Sun: Releasing What If and Embracing What Is, you’ll find encouragement to live in the moment, sit with your experiences, and trust God with the unknown.
Preorder from Baker Book House for 40% off and free shipping!*
*US shipping only