First Steps and More Old Dead Guys.

The Prairie Parsonage now has four out of four family members who can walk!  Our little KJ decided to take her first steps while I was making dinner a few weeks ago.  For a girl with a set of lungs, her first steps were dainty and cautious, as if she wasn't sure what would happen if she put one foot in front of the other.  It was almost uncharacteristic of her.  In fact, it was the first time I really saw her be cautious of anything (this is a girl who body slam wrestles the rest of the family-cautious is not really in her nature).

This new found talent of walking has not come without a cost though.  She has a scrape on her face from a fall against the toy box and wails were heard throughout the county as she fell again this afternoon.  She is learning and falling is part of it.  If she doesn't step out in faith, with a few stumbles along the way, then she will never learn to walk.  She is learning that her legs do have the strength to hold her up and that putting one foot in front of the other does in fact get her to where she wants to go. 

It makes me think of Pascal's Wager.  Blaise Pascal is another old dead guy that occassionally gets mentioned around the Prairie Parsonage.  And yes, my pastor husband does think it is attractive when I throw Pascal's quotes around like I actually know what I am talking about.  Pascal was apparently a brainiac because not only was he a philospher, but also a mathmetician and physicist.  Personally, I think that a person should only be allowed one area of expertise, but that's just my opinion.  Little E has some new superhero underwear that he wears with pride.  Which superhero to wear on which day is quite a decision.  To me, Blaise Pascal having the superpowers of insane knowledge philosophy, math, and physics is just plain wrong.  But, I digress.

Mr. Pascal, the real Superman, came up with an argument called Pascal's Wager.  This wager was a big deal, not just because what it said, but because it blazed new trails with probability theory and decision theory.  But, for me, what the argument actually said is what is most important.

Pascal's Wager is this.  If you believe in God, you gain all of eternity.  If God doesn't exist, but you believe in Him, you have lost nothing.  But, if you don't believe in God and He does exist, then you will spend eternity in hell- you have lost everything.  So basically, believing in God is the best bet.  It is the best wager.  Pascal puts it like this, "If you gain, you gain all.  If you lose, you lose nothing.  Wager then, without hesitation that He exists."  (www.brainyquotes.com)

So, like little KJ, we sometimes need to step out if faith.  If she had never tried to walk, she would miss out on a lifetime of running, skipping, and jumping.  She would never know the joy of doing all the things that most children do.  In the end, she would have lost out.

I know that most of you reading this blog probably already know Christ.  But, some of you don't.  If not, my question is this.  Why?  What do you have to lose by choosing Him?  Because if you do choose Christ, you will have an eternity of walking side by side with your Maker.

It is my prayer that little KJ will someday use her steps on the other side of heaven, throwing caution to the wind and run straight into the arms of her savior.  And it is my prayer that you will believe in God, the safe bet, and are able to join her too.

Blessings to you!

I can walk!

P.S. If you are reading this, please pray for the Collins and Cook families from Evansdale, IA.  Their little girls have been missing since Friday.  Thanks.