fearless
Sometimes God’s best lessons come in pint-sized packages. A few years ago, I was at a retreat in the mountains. Molly was the pastor’s daughter, only nine years old. For some reason, she decided that I simply must try zip lining. Being extremely fearful of heights, I smiled and declined, but Molly wasn’t having any of that. She started to describe every thrilling detail of what it was like—which only intensified my fear! All my protests were met with eyebrows raised and a commanding you-can-do-this expression. Reaching up, Molly rested her hands on my shoulders and with her best “mom” voice said, “It’s going to be fine. I’ll go with you. We’ll do it together.”
I relented and silently hoped she would forget, since zip lining wasn’t scheduled until the next day. But Molly didn’t forget.
So there I was, next day, climbing up that dreaded path with Molly right beside me. “You need to try new things,” she said. “You won’t know if you’ll like it until you try.” Sensing my panic, Molly talked me through all the steps, reassuring me the whole way.
We buckled on our safety harness and she showed me where to stand. “Just watch me,” Molly said, smiling back at me. And just like that, zip! She was gliding through air. It looked so easy! Still, I hesitated, holding up the line behind me. “Lord,” I prayed, “You were faithful not to let Molly or any of these other people fall. You will be faithful to me too.” People were cheering me on from below, and there was Molly, on the other side now, calling me over. Oh, how I didn’t want to let this sweet girl down! I took a deep breath and stepped off that platform into thin air—and you know what? It wasn’t scary at all. The hardest part was letting go and trusting that cable to carry me.
What an exhilarating experience!
And to think, I would have missed out if not for the pursuit and encouragement of my fearless friend, Molly Lindsey.
Why am I telling you this? Because it’s such a lesson to me about stepping out in faith. The Lord calls each one of us, as His children, to share the gospel with others. For an introvert like me, that can seem so scary—but He goes with us. He will show us where to go, what to say. We don’t want to let Him down, right? Besides, you won’t know you can do it until you try! So how about it? Let’s keep our eyes on the Lord, take that first step out of our comfort zone, and let it go!
“Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 NLT
2 comments
Caitlin | August 9, 2018
Amen!!
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Denise | August 21, 2018
That was very encouraging, thank you for sharing.
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