Years ago, when I was at summer camp as a teenager, a group of us hiked to the top of the mountain where our leader told us we would learn about trust falls. “It’s easy,” he said. “Just stand shoulder to shoulder in two lines facing one another and put your arms out. Then he climbed up on a platform in the bend of a tree and fell backward. Success! We caught him, and it didn’t hurt.
One by one, we climbed up to that platform and one by one, most had to be coached into trying it. It was easy to catch but much harder to fall backward into the arms of others. When it was my turn, I was terrified. What if they miss? What if I don’t do it correctly and I get dropped? Why did I come to camp when I could be safe at home instead? After a minute, I suspect what happened was I gave in to peer pressure and took my turn, too.
After each of us had a turn, we sat in the grass on the mountaintop not far from the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is beautiful there. Relaxing together, the leader of our group said, “I wonder how God feels … when we are overcome with the unknown and God is ready to catch us, but fear holds us back from trusting that. I wonder if God isn’t there cheering us on to trust … saying it’s okay, I’ve got you.”
That night, in my bed in my cabin, I prayed and said, “God, I will do anything you ask.” A few minutes later I said, “But please don’t ask me to do scary stuff because that was scary today, and I don’t want to do that again.” It was honest.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that day on the mountain as we start the new year. The hindsight of years has taught me that God is there to catch me in the scary stuff, too. I’ve also realized that I can’t put conditions on what I’m willing to offer God in myself if I want to experience the fullness of God’s love in my life. I have to be all in with God.
I wonder what trusting moments you and I might experience in the coming year, together and individually. Are we ready to be all in? Are we willing to fully embrace this new year by handing it completely over to God, to guide lead and catch us when we fall?
I wonder what moments we will experience together and how God will teach us to love the community around us fully. What might it look like if we go where we are called and just trust God to catch us?
None of us knows what this coming year may hold, but we do know who holds us. I pray we take risks. I pray we love boldly. I pray we try new things. I pray we stay open. I pray for you and me as we begin a new year together. I can’t wait to see where we go.
Grace and Peace,
Leigh
