I know I've told this story before but it has served as a good reminder to me about accepting change. I need to rely on God's strength, direction, and His best for my life even during hard times. It really does not make a difference if I don't like it or am afraid - when God says, "take a leap of faith" I need to take off.
When I was in school I was on the track team. I did pretty well running the 400 and 800 meters, and sporadically they allowed me to compete in the long jump. On the days we would practice jumping I couldn't help but marvel at the other jumpers that competed in the high jump and pole vault!
When I was in school I was on the track team. I did pretty well running the 400 and 800 meters, and sporadically they allowed me to compete in the long jump. On the days we would practice jumping I couldn't help but marvel at the other jumpers that competed in the high jump and pole vault!
The pole vault seemed to need too much instruction and
technique, but how hard could it be to just jump over a bar? I found out that
jumping 2, 3, 4 feet was easy but once the bar was set higher it seemed too be
impossible for me to do. I watched the high jump athletes soar over the bar
with ease. I knew that if I tried to jump at those heights I would surely not
make it, so I went back to running and jumping – low and long. I walked under
the bar and told those jumpers I wouldn’t be taking up any more of their time.
I have thought about that experience a lot recently. In our
lives we tend to run the same things over and over again. They’re safe and we
have had some success. Even if we look at doing something else the fear of “knocking the bar off” keeps us from
trying. May I suggest that “knocking the
bar off” is not the worse thing that can happen. Walking under the bar and
not trying at all would be a tragedy.
Walking under the bar leaves us with untapped experiences,
opportunities, and trying something new that might change our lives. God wants
us to raise the bar when it comes to faithfulness, purposefulness, obedience,
and serving Him. Knocking the bar off doesn't mean we have failed it means we have attempted to do something bigger
than ourselves.
Setting the bar higher demonstrates that we are willing to
try, grow, trust, follow, and believe that “all things are possible in Christ”! I am willing to jump (even in to the unknown) because I know God will catch me. Amen?
