My four-year-old, Caris, is in that preschool stage of curiosity of and BURNING DESIRE for learning. As a third child, she simply cannot learn what she wants to fast enough. Did I mention that burning desire?! Her latest obsession is writing her letters. She will spend untold hours, little tongue hanging out in concentration, copying her letters and trying to write words. She is frustrated that she can't do it as independently as she would like. While her big brothers do their homework, she will repeat the phrase she hears them ask often--"Mom, how do you spell this word?" I automatically start to answer, then remember that she doesn't even know what each letter looks like. So, I grab a piece of paper and write out the word so she can copy it.

This system works well until her burning desire becomes a quest to do too much, too soon. For instance, last night, she was working on a note for her grandparents. "Mommy, how do you spell Boo and Pop?" I wrote out these words for her, coaching her on the fine art of forming a "P." She was content for a while, but then said, "Ok, Mommy, now show me how to write this. I want to say 'Dear Boo and Pop, I hope you like this picture I made just for you. I made this happy pumpkin, and this sad pumpkin, and don't be scared because that blue ghost is just my dad dressed up.' "

The thought struck me that we, too, as children of God, try to do too much, too soon. Just as we begin to gain some fresh insight, or perceive some new calling, we desire to be off and running with it--full steam ahead. At times, that is the right reaction. But sometimes, we are rushing to write a novel when our Abba Father just wants us to sit patiently and work on forming our letters. We are to practice in His presence, coached carefully by Him, until we are fully equipped for the task. Our independent nature pushes us forward, and we are so excited at the prospect of our task that we forget what we don't know. But, we will fall flat on our face when we go at our own pace. We just need to sit very close to Him, patiently allowing Him to show us our lessons methodically and thoroughly before we move forward.

Thankfully, my little Caris is aware enough of her limitations to recognize her need for dependence. I can usually persuade her to follow my directions, perhaps allowing me to write the letter while she signs her name at the bottom. In our journey with God, aren't we all better off to allow our Father to draft the letter, and we can just simply write our name, one letter at a time, as He instructs us how to move forward?