...'Cause I Can!

The one thing I love about my sassy baby girl is that she is head strong. Now, there are some days where homegirl tries me on the regular, but I respect her drive and determination. In this photo she is definitely giving me all sass...no brakes, but she recently taught me a lesson on taking leaps.

One thing about Jaia is that she is fearless. She's the kid who just goes for it. Not scared of anything...except flies. Recently she spent most of the afternoon jumping from on top of the dresser to the bed, over, over, and over again. It's like the rush of doing something she knows she's not supposed to do, but also the thrill of being that high up and jumping down, truly kept her adrenaline going. I asked her why she was doing that and she looked at me square in my eyes and said, "'Cause I can."

There was no fear, no need to think about it, just flat out, "cause I can." At that statement, it had me thinking. "What else can I accomplish, do, take the risk with" if instead of questioning everything...I just went for it. Jaia has a way of making my pull my hair out, but also being in awe of her fearlessness and unique approach to life. She takes the risks and she doesn't fear the unknown, because she knows that either mom or grandpa are always right there to help her, guide her, or tend to what she needs, whenever she needs it.

I believe that is the beauty of our relationship with God. While we may sometimes be fearful of the unknown, we should feel safe to take the risks, and live the life God designed for us because we really can. I can't tell you how many times I refused to take a chance on myself because I feared the failure, the ridicule of others, or just the thought that I was not created to do anything extraordinary. Well....I now know all of that was just the shadowing of negativity and fear, two things that I am evicting from my life each day.

Take those risks, jump into new adventures, love, opportunities, and experiences, because you really truly can!

#AshleySpeak