to give chase..

I watched with amazement as the little girl walked up between the pews, quietly playing and twirling and then quietly walked back to her parents.

That has never happened to me. If my child were to get that far out of my grasp they would have taken off, sprinted up on stage giggling and laughing with glee until I was finally able to corner them and drag them kicking and screaming (and still giggling) back to our pew.

I know this because it happened.

But I couldn't help but wonder which came first; my kids running away or me giving chase.

As a mom, I've always been big on giving my kids freedom. For the most part, they wear, eat and play how they choose, letting logical consequences follow. For the most part they make good decisions.

But occasionally...

...they wander farther than comfortable and I hold my breath and pray...and sometimes, like this morning, they can be brought back with a gentle hug and reminders of love....but other times, like last week, I have to chase them down and bring them kicking and screaming back to the pew, and I wonder...why they ran in the first place.