Taking off the Training Wheels

It id funny what leittle moments can do to make you thin kabout your relationship with God. Tired from a long day at work  we convened for dinner and went through the normal ritual of telling about our days. My husband told me all about his day with the kids and that he raised the training wheels on my son's bike, so that he could learn to balance more and not  worry about having no training wheels. I thought about this in my walk with God. As a beginner Christian, I was so worried about existing in the Christian sub culture. With all of my friends using Christian language I never could understand, such as  "salvation", "sanctification", and "accountability," I wondered if I would ever fit in. I constantly wanted to surround myself with those I thought scould speak the "language" and protect me from making a fool of myself. These people were my "training wheels." As I grew in the Word, continued going to church faithfully, and obediently folliowing what I felt God wanted me to do, the "training wheels" became less necessary.  As I submerged myself in that circle of  believers, my ability to survive became stronger and stornger. If i had quit because i felt intimidated, I would have never understood what it meant to be a Christian.
In the same way, my son is intimidated because he has not submerged himself in the discipline of practicing the fine art of bike riding. If he quits now, he will never learn, and miss out on the joy of cruising down the nearby sidewalk with the wind through his neatly trimmed hair. If I had quit becoming like Jesus because I felt intimidated by the people around me, I would not experience the joy of becoming like my"trainer".