jumping out of a plane is a stupid idea. i don’t know who the first person to do it was, but they must have been nuts. falling for 45 seconds at about 120mph towards the ground…strapped to a man who’s strapped to a parachute…with maybe five minutes of training…not my most discerning moment (but one of my better moments.
but the parallels.
1. i had to trust glenn. glenn made all the moves – the jump out of the plane, the pull of the ripcord, the steering of the chute, the original flips out of the plane – and my only job was to go along with what he asked of me.
2. at one point glenn unbuckled my shoulder straps and loosened my chest strap – mid fall (but after the chute opened). it was not comfortable, and it made me real nervous. out of instinct, i grabbed my harness really tightly, only to hear glenn’s laughter. “dave!” he yelled. “that harness is connected to you…not a parachute, what good does holding on to it do? let go and enjoy this, i’ve got ya…you’re not going anywhere.” but it’s a lot easier to hold on to security for myself than it is to trust someone or something else.
3. it was over way too quick. our squad is battling the thought of “checking out” before our world race is over. but in that 2 minutes of falling, i tried to savor as much of what was happening as i could. the emotions, the fears, the feeling in my stomach sitting on the edge of the plane. those were good moments that i couldve missed, pretty easily. it goes back to enjoying the present and seeing what God has for me in this moment. but that moment in the present was fantastic, and worth savoring, even if it did end quickly.
this isn’t a parallel, but the girls on BLING have been so good to me. they’ve really been a blessing to hang out with, pray with, talk with, and laugh with. i’m going to miss them, but i’m glad i could savor the month with them. i’m also glad i’ll get to be with my teammates again come thursday…
