Woooooo!?!! You got this!? I shouted to myself as I stepped off the 100 meters high tower that a few of my teammates, ministry hosts, and myself built and painted over the past couple of weeks. This tower is now currently being used by hundreds of kids in Ukraine at a Christian Camp! But here’s what went into making that tower.
A few weeks ago I had painted a really long metal beam blue on the ground. The tower itself was actually painted yellow and some other fixtures around it were painted blue to represent Ukraine’s flag colors. Anyway, we used an oil based water proof paint and that type took a few days to dry. So when they lifted up the beam to stand up, one side was left unpainted. Now the beam was actually several meters away from the tower and the only way to get to the unpainted standing beam was to clip yourself to a wire that was connected from the tower to the beam and zip line across. As you can see below that was quite some distance pretty high up in the sky. I jumped at the opportunity to finish the job and when I had gotten all the way to the top my heart dropped. The butterflies kicked in, but my faith had increased!
One of my favorite things we did last month for our ministry was to learn how to build ropes courses, test them out and have other people try them out as well to build unity, endurance, and faith! Here are some pictures of what we did for a church retreat:
So I was up in the air quite a few times last month.
It didn’t take long for me to step off the ledge because even though it looked terrifying, thoughts of disaster or flaws didn’t even cross my mind because I was so sure that I would be ok! I was assured that I would be fine not necessarily because I was strapped in tight or that I was with a fearless friend who has done this dozens of times, or even because the wire was sturdy and the clip was strong. I was certain that I would be able to step off that ledge because I trusted that God would not let me go! Like I said this past month we have had numerous practice being up in the air in learning how to build ropes courses, and prior to that I have done similar exercises where I literally had to step off a ledge (harnessed in of course…shout out to Younglives) way up in the air.
Here’s another example on the race. Month 2, our squad went to the “Grand Canyon” in Chiang Mai, Thailand for adventure day.This Grand Canyon is an old quarry filled with water surrounded by a bunch of tall rocks…that make it look like a canyon. Yes I know my descriptive words are allowing you to envision being there right now in your head right now…lol. Anyway, there was a cliff jumping point at this canyon where quite of a few of us including myself braved ourselves to conquer. It was a 10-15 meter (30-45 ft) drop into the water below. The first time I did it…it took me about 20 minutes or so to actually jump into the water! Fast forward to month 8 in Ukraine, a few of the ropes course building crew pictured below
went to an extreme adventure park to research new courses to possibly build for the camp we were staying at. At the very end of the course there was a zip line…again pretty high up in the sky. And without much hesitation, I confidently stepped off the ledge. My little, big (little because I’m older, bigger because he’s taller) brother Joshua who’ve I’ve been on a team on since month 1 made a comment as I smiled from ear to ear when I reached the bottom.
“Wow Bliz, you’ve changed since Thailand! What’s different?”
That right there was a “light bulb” moment for me! If He did it before, He can do it again! He has proven Himself time and time again that He’s got me, that he would never let me go. Not just in the thrilling rides of zip lining and high ropes courses, but in the thrilling ride called life! I look back at all of the challenges I had to succumb, the decisions I had to make and the consequences I had to face and I am able to see God’s hand at work in my life! His grace and mercy has proven himself worthy of all my praise and trust! So going back to being way up in the air, every time I’m up there my faith increases because I’m assured of God’s provision in my life.
I was also fully funded this past month! Honestly this answer to prayer also increased my faith. Not that I didn’t believe that He could provide the exact amount of money needed, but because it was another living testimony of God’s work in my life! So this increase in faith is also an answer to prayers of getting to know God deeper because he knows how weak we are apart from his grace. Part of building your personal relationship with Christ is learning how to trust him!
So if I were to encourage you at all today, I want to challenge you to recount all the ways that God has come through for you in the past, whether it was 20 years ago, last month, a few weeks ago, yesterday or even just a few minutes ago. God coming through for you could look like getting a new job, reconciling a burnt bridge in a relationship, getting along with your in-laws, being able to pay off this month’s mortgage bill, Holy Spirit nudging you to say hello or share the gospel with someone you feel uncomfortable talking to. God is coming through for you right now. He works everything out for your good (Rom 8:28)! Do you trust Him?
