One of my grandsons will have had his fifth birthday on 14th January. After Christmas, it always seems to creep up on me every year, so as soon as the New Year celebrations were over, I texted my daughter to ask what I should get him.
Apparently, they are preparing to remove his stabilisers from his bike, so have requested that I buy him some knee and elbow pads. Of course, I was happy to do that. We want our children to live life to the full, experience freedom and enjoy adventure but are wary that these can be risky, so we attempt to shelter and protect them as much as we can. We try to look ahead and identify what could happen and get resources together to limit damage as far as we are able. However, if the child refuses to wear the protection or over confidently believes he has no need for the cushioning, he is still at risk.
How often as children of God do we dismiss the warnings in God’s word or neglect to pray and put ourselves in His hands? Then we wonder why we get hurt or fall into temptation.