Baby Gates...

I have a new prayer.

Instead of just asking God to "open and close doors" for me, I'm going to start asking for Him to put up some baby gates for me as well.

When my brother, Kirk, and I were just little tykes my parents had a baby gate at the top of a long staircase that lead to our basement.  In the early eighties baby gates were made of metal fittings, sharp plastic, and wood with tons of splinter potential.  They acted as a barrier as well as created the same effect as the razor blade wire that you see atop of jailhouse gates.

I think  I still have baby gate scars.

One of my favorite photos from our childhood is a pic of my brother trying to climb over the baby gate.  The reason it's one of our faves is because whichever one of our parents that took that photo thought it best to take a snapshot instead of rescuing Kirk from potential harm and whisking him to safety.  "Who was on baby duty that day?", Kirk asked our parents as they smile coyly and quickly change the subject.

Kirk and I were allowed to go into the basement.  Just not by ourselves.  The stairway was much too difficult and dangerous for toddlers to traverse sans a hand to hold.  But once we were safely downstairs, we could run free. 

To me, a baby gate says, "You aren't ready to go in this area alone."  And that's why I pray for God to put up baby gates for me.

There are things in life that aren't good for us to try and tackle on our own.  We need people to walk with us, encourage us, pray for us, pick us up, and we do the same for them.  We need to take time to pause and evaluate the environment we are about to enter into. Is it safe?  Could we get hurt?  Am I gonna need backup?

Sometimes when God opens a door for me, I just run right through it without realizing that I've basically run into a burning building without any help or protection.  The baby gate would help me to stop and pause before I go it alone. 

I just pray the baby gates God gives me aren't easy to climb over. 

I'm a stubborn, stubborn lady.

Loves,

Katie