"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen"-Hebrews 11:1
Courage. I remember the first time I did something crazy. At least to me it seemed crazy. I took a rock climbing class in college as a stress reliever for all of my other classes. Seems simple enough except, I'm afraid of heights. Which I had justified in my mind would not be a big deal since rock climbing means going up hence the word "climbing". What I didn't realize in my college driven mind was that at some point I would have to get down meaning I would have to face my fear. The semester was great! Except for the early mornings, I loved every moment; learning to tie knots, how to belay, fastening your harness, checking the rope for any flaws and many other life point checks for safety. I gained confidence I never knew possible and when the time came to take the semester test; an eighty foot climb in a nearby state park, I was feeling like a boat headed out to sea; prepared for the situation, yet unprepared for what was to come.
The day finally arrived and my palms were sweating profusely mixed with a pang of emotions almost like riding a rollercoaster. As I geared up and confirmed my belayer was ready, my ascent began. Things were looking good. I kept my eyes focused on my feet and the next grip I would take making sure I was solid in place before continuing. The crag's incline increased until the ridge was no longer obtainable except by roughly an eight foot pass to the other side only possible by Spiderman's leap. My heart began to pound nearing my throat as the realization sunk in deep. In order for me to finish, I would have to let go of my security blanket and jump! If I remember correctly, I believe I made a comment in regards to my decision in taking the class in the first place and that I must have been insane for not only signing up, but paying for an opportunity to kill myself by either plummeting to my death or splatting alongside the rock. Reminding myself to breath, a choice had to be made. Jump and finish what I had started or belay myself down and feel like a failure to overcome what seemed impossible at the time. I'm quite certain that the rock had a good listen as I contemplated my future choice. Jump. Stay. Jump and die. Stay and fail. Five minutes later, I Peter Panned off of the rock and braced myself for the landing resting on a three foot wide ledge. I did it! I scraped up my leg pretty bad (I still have a scar for memory's sake), but I actually let go and survived! The rest of the climb was a piece of cake, but it took that moment, that choice, that desire to finish what I had started. Most important to make note of is my belayer. Had he not kept the rope taught and predicted my precise move, I would have been staring at the boulder nose to ridge with a few broken bones to mend.
Looking back at the experience my decision to follow Christ was much the same as climbing the rock. Do I take the leap of faith knowing that if I jump, I will no longer live for myself, or do I stay on the ridge and descend back down to life I no longer enjoyed. I knew that neither decision would be easy, but I was highly aware that my heart was ready to fly. Although my fear wasn't of heights, I did have the fear of losing my family, my husband, and possibly my kids; leaving a religion you've known all your life did not sit well in our family history. The choice had already been made, but the follow through took some time. Yet, when I did I once again had support from my belayer, but this one knew me before I was born. He understood my fears and held on tight as He guided me across the bridge into a life with Him. If it wasn't for God's strength, I would still be clinging onto the rocky crag wondering why I didn't jump sooner.
A friend of mine once said, "If God gave us the whole picture, then we wouldn't have the faith to continue climbing." Isn't that so true? God only gives us what He knows is enough for us to have faith in Him as our guide, our belayer, our Heavenly Father. What fear will you let go of and have faith knowing that He has you in the palm of His hand?
Courage. I remember the first time I did something crazy. At least to me it seemed crazy. I took a rock climbing class in college as a stress reliever for all of my other classes. Seems simple enough except, I'm afraid of heights. Which I had justified in my mind would not be a big deal since rock climbing means going up hence the word "climbing". What I didn't realize in my college driven mind was that at some point I would have to get down meaning I would have to face my fear. The semester was great! Except for the early mornings, I loved every moment; learning to tie knots, how to belay, fastening your harness, checking the rope for any flaws and many other life point checks for safety. I gained confidence I never knew possible and when the time came to take the semester test; an eighty foot climb in a nearby state park, I was feeling like a boat headed out to sea; prepared for the situation, yet unprepared for what was to come.
The day finally arrived and my palms were sweating profusely mixed with a pang of emotions almost like riding a rollercoaster. As I geared up and confirmed my belayer was ready, my ascent began. Things were looking good. I kept my eyes focused on my feet and the next grip I would take making sure I was solid in place before continuing. The crag's incline increased until the ridge was no longer obtainable except by roughly an eight foot pass to the other side only possible by Spiderman's leap. My heart began to pound nearing my throat as the realization sunk in deep. In order for me to finish, I would have to let go of my security blanket and jump! If I remember correctly, I believe I made a comment in regards to my decision in taking the class in the first place and that I must have been insane for not only signing up, but paying for an opportunity to kill myself by either plummeting to my death or splatting alongside the rock. Reminding myself to breath, a choice had to be made. Jump and finish what I had started or belay myself down and feel like a failure to overcome what seemed impossible at the time. I'm quite certain that the rock had a good listen as I contemplated my future choice. Jump. Stay. Jump and die. Stay and fail. Five minutes later, I Peter Panned off of the rock and braced myself for the landing resting on a three foot wide ledge. I did it! I scraped up my leg pretty bad (I still have a scar for memory's sake), but I actually let go and survived! The rest of the climb was a piece of cake, but it took that moment, that choice, that desire to finish what I had started. Most important to make note of is my belayer. Had he not kept the rope taught and predicted my precise move, I would have been staring at the boulder nose to ridge with a few broken bones to mend.
Looking back at the experience my decision to follow Christ was much the same as climbing the rock. Do I take the leap of faith knowing that if I jump, I will no longer live for myself, or do I stay on the ridge and descend back down to life I no longer enjoyed. I knew that neither decision would be easy, but I was highly aware that my heart was ready to fly. Although my fear wasn't of heights, I did have the fear of losing my family, my husband, and possibly my kids; leaving a religion you've known all your life did not sit well in our family history. The choice had already been made, but the follow through took some time. Yet, when I did I once again had support from my belayer, but this one knew me before I was born. He understood my fears and held on tight as He guided me across the bridge into a life with Him. If it wasn't for God's strength, I would still be clinging onto the rocky crag wondering why I didn't jump sooner.
A friend of mine once said, "If God gave us the whole picture, then we wouldn't have the faith to continue climbing." Isn't that so true? God only gives us what He knows is enough for us to have faith in Him as our guide, our belayer, our Heavenly Father. What fear will you let go of and have faith knowing that He has you in the palm of His hand?