Forever Young: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

My 4-year-old is obsessed with Charlie Brown right now. She has watched every episode available on Netflix, multiple times. Who cares if it's about Valentine's Day or Halloween. While she watches Charlie Brown, her 2-year-old sister takes a nap, so I try to get things done around the house -- cleaning, laundry, prepping for supper, etc. Oh, and cuddle with my 3-week-old!

Today, as I was doing my own thing, I couldn't help but stop and watch and listen to Charlie Brown too. As I did, I learned a life lesson:

You won't know unless you try.

Charlie Brown may be a good man, but I don't want to be like him.

Now, hear me out...

If you know anything about Charlie Brown, you probably know he has quite the crush on the "little red hair girl." Only problem, he has never actually talked to her. He's too scared. He's afraid she will reject him. And so he sits on his bench during lunch and watches her from a distance. He makes a Valentine for her, but doesn't give it to her. He wants to ask her to a dance but can't walk over to her. He finds her pencil she dropped but can't get up the nerve to return it to her before someone else takes it out of his hand and does it for him. Poor Charlie Brown!

Or is he?

Should we really feel all that sorry for Charlie Brown?

At some point, he's got to get past his fear. If he loves the little red hair girl so much, what is keeping him from going up to her, saying hi, introducing himself? In one episode, he is getting advice from "Dr. Lucy" and asks what he would do if the little red hair girl does like him and then he realizes he doesn't like her as much as he thinks he does. How will he leave her? Exasperated, Lucy screams, "How are you going to leave someone you have never met in the first place?!"

We can laugh at Charlie Brown, but how often do we do the same thing?

How many times have we let fear get in our way of trying something new?

How many opportunities have we missed because we were too afraid of what someone would think of us?

How often do we have an idea or a dream but are too scared to even try to make it happen?

We tell ourselves everything that could go wrong.

We think of all the bad things that could possibly happen.

We focus only on the negative.

We convince ourselves that we shouldn't even try, that our idea is ridiculous anyway, that our dream is too big to ever become a reality, that everyone will laugh at us.

And so, like Charlie Brown, we end up sitting on the bench all alone, with a bag over our heads.

Like I said, Charlie Brown may be a good man, but I don't want to be like him.

At least not in this instance.