Two weeks ago we visited Corrigador, a small island that sits at the mouth of Manila Bay. It was a military base that changed hands 3 times around WW2 and it was the most bombed location in the whole war. As we explored the wreckage on the island, we took in amazing scenery, and slept under the biggest sky of stars I have seen in a long time; it was hard to believe that bloody battles happened on the same beaches.
Down the beach from where we camped there was a tall pier we could jump off of. It was an amazing experience. I think this story illustrates some of the things that have been in my head this month.
Phase 1: The Initial Jump
Arriving at our campsite Colleen and I were instantly drawn to the pier. We tossed our stuff down, hurried into our swimsuits and took off down the beach. As we walked we started to take in our surroundings. Beautiful beaches, the ocean, more islands in the distance, mountains… literally breathtaking. As we walked down the pier two things happened. The phrases “is this really our life?” and “it is so beautiful it hurts” kept coming up. And, we caught ourselves directing our gaze at the concrete ground of the pier. With every step we were more blown away the beauty, humbled by our smallness, and it just became easier to direct our gaze downward instead of trying to look that beauty in the face.
Reaching the end of the pier we froze… it’s was a long way down, we were surrounded by extravagance and we were out of concrete to comfort us. We are told it was an amusing site to watch us brave the pier. We would approach the end, dance around, and then back up again. After conversation and a prayer for boldness… we did it. We jumped. After an exhilarating free fall we hit the cold water and came up grinning.
I compare this feeling to saying “Yes” to God in a big way. Whether it’s turning your life over to Him or saying “Yes” and jumping to the next thing he’s calling you to. The obvious recent event for me has been the World Race. Jumping out of my life and away from the people I love. Letting myself look at God’s world in all its’ simultaneous ugliness and extreme beauty square in the face. Letting it affect me and change me and being obedient to jump even when I’m scared.
Phase 2: Running with Joy
From that point on we were hooked. We wanted to do it over and over again. Forget standing on the edge and jumping…. we decided to start running about ¾ of the way down the pier and jump the next time. And we did…. repeatedly. We still acknowledged the bigness and mightiness of our surroundings but we were not intimidated any longer.
I feel like that’s where God has brought me this month in the Philippines. I just want more. I want to run hard and fast into his arms. I want to jump over and over again. I want God to remove all of my fears and to completely give in to the joy of the adventure. It’s never easy… it’s always a jump. When you experience the joy of the freefall you want it again and again.
Phase 3: Helping a Brother out
The next day Colleen and I escorted our World Race brothers out for the adventure. The two of us hit the pier running, two of the boys followed our lead, and we hit the water… leaving one still standing on the pier. He didn’t make the jump. I treaded water for awhile shouting the appropriate mix of encouragement and heckling. Still no jumping. He decided he wasn’t ready but if I swam in he would definitely jump next time. So in I swam and met him at the end of the pier.
This started our long stand on the end of that pier. For forty-five minutes I sat there as he talked himself into and out of jumping off the pier. I basically just watched him pace and offered an encouraging “come on already” from time to time. By the end there was a family of three out on the pier offering to take his picture and email it to him if he would actually jump. It was a community effort. In the end we were out of time… the jeepney was coming to take us home. It was now or never. After probably 5 more attempts he finally did it! We jumped. I was so proud. I think I enjoyed that hard earned jump more than any of the others.
These are some of my prayers for this year: I pray that our excitement and joy never stops with us. I pray that we would never take ownership but that we would acknowledge these things as gifts from God and that they overflow into our teammates and into each community we encounter. I pray that it reaches each of you reading blogs back home. I pray that every person we interact with becomes aware that they are in the presence of ones who have made the jump and are riding the wind. I pray that we would never run out of patience to sit alongside each other and encourage each other to take whatever the next jump is. Because it’s worth it… every time.
