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by Rita Louise MacDonald

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Going Forward

by Rita Macdonald

Out of the mouths of babes.

I follow a little 6-year-old girl and her Mom & Dad on Instagram who are big into snowboarding – not because I’m into snowboarding, but because they make it look like so much fun. They travel all over the world and snowboard down the scariest slopes with the most breathtaking views. I guess one could say I’m just mindlessly scrolling, but to be honest, after watching a few of their reels, I kinda feel like I may have strengthened my calf muscles and burned off a few calories. Wishful thinking, I know, but say what you will – I enjoy keeping up with them. The little 6-year-old girl’s name is Cash, but they frequently call her “Cashy,” and she has coined this phrase, “If you’re scared – do it scared!” Mom & Dad sell T-shirts and hats and all sorts of merchandise with her words of wisdom on them.

And then there’s the famous missionary Elizabeth Elliot, whose inspiring words, paraphrased by me, “when in dark times, just do the next thing.”  Those words have brought me great comfort during one particular time in my life, and I still often think of them.

Then there’s my Dad.  He coined a number of phrases like ,”when in doubt, don’t,” and “just do the right thing,” and one of our all-time favorites, “when you’re going to jump in the bathtub, make sure there’s water in it.”

(Okay, maybe you had to be there.)

But today! Today I took my sweet little 6-year-old Lyla on a field trip with her kindergarten class, and when we were leaving to come home, I asked her if she wanted to stop for ice cream.  Well, of course you know she said yes, and so I pulled out my phone to google where the closest Dairy Queen was. But Lyla insisted she could give me directions. “Gummy, I know how to get there! You don’t need directions!”

By this time, I’d found the directions and plugged them into the GPS, but I wasn’t going to steal her thunder, so I let her believe she was directing me to the Dairy Queen in town.

“Okay, Lyla!  Which way should I go?” I asked as I started to pull out of the parking lot.

“FORWARD, Gummy!  Go FORWARD!”  And then she said “Oh shoot, I can’t remember which way is left, and which way is right!”  But I turned, and she got her bearings, and then promptly directed me.  “Gummy, pass the Tractor Supply store, and then pass Mcdonald’s, and then Dairy Queen will be next!  See! There it is, Gummy!”  And she was right!

Those were some precious moments with Lyla, and she found out how much she loves a good old fashioned chocolate shake, just like her Daddy & her Uncle Ian did when they were her age.  So did Owen & Maci, because we brought some back for them too!

But at the end of the day, I thought her words, “Go Forward!” were as profound as Cashy’s and Elizabeth Elliot’s.  I don’t think I’ll be selling t-shirts or baseball hats, and I doubt if people will quote her 20 years from now, but I most certainly will be laughing about it for decades, and definitely recording it in my little notebook of funny things the kiddos say. (If you have kids or grandkids, and you don’t do that – you should start!  It will give you laughs for the rest. of. your. life.)

I’m heading to bed now, but tomorrow morning is my first day back to work after a little vacation. I need to jump back on the treadmill, lose the couple of pounds I managed to find, and get back into the daily groove again, and I’ll start at 6 a.m. by taking Lyla’s advice and going forward!

If you want to have fun pretending like you burned a few calories snowboarding, you can follow little Cash Rowley and her family at www.rowleyadventures.com.

Goodnight everybody, and go forward!

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Hello, I’m Rita.

Rita Louise MacDonald

I am a very imperfect follower of Jesus. Much of my journey in learning to follow Christ – as a single mother and now as an empty nester – has taken place at my kitchen table. I invite you to pull up a chair, enjoy the stories, maybe even collect a recipe or two!

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