I Jumped First
I’m sure we’ve all heard at least once in our lives the saying “well if everyone jumped off a bridge, would you?” To which I usually replied, (sarcastically I might add) “Yes, just not first! I’d let others jump first to make sure I don’t get hurt”.
As a teenager I’m sure I was proud of my seemingly witty response and I’m also sure my parents loved hearing it lol, but as an adult I’m learning how the things we say and even the things we’ve always said can be a reflection of the way we live our lives.
This saying is usually the result of someone expressing the desire to step out and take a risk, sometimes it’s a stupid and unnecessary risk. But sometimes in life we are called to take a risk and step out in faith.
But Risk is a scary thing. Why, because it requires courage and trust. Courage to step out into the unknown. And Faith, both in those around you and faith that God is there with you even in the unknown.
I’d like to think of myself as a risk taker, I think for the most part we all would. But when it comes down to it I’m typically not the first one to jump. I like to see others go first and if they get hurt, well no thanks I’ll find something else to do. And if it was awesome, well count me in!
But in the last few months I’ve been faced with more and more opportunities to take a leap of faith and jump. No safety nets, no guarantees, and no one to jump first to show me everything will turn out fine. Take this whole crazy trip for example. I had a little bit of an idea of what I was getting myself into but no example or someone I knew to tell me this is what this will look like, this is what you are going to feel, highs and lows and no one to tell me personally it’s all going to be ok. I was first up to jump and hopefully be an example to those that will jump after me.
And this past week I was confronted with all these thoughts all at once both in a spiritual and very physical sense. Now before you panic no I didn’t jump off a bridge… it was more like a 40-foot-tall pole in a rope course, and I was first up.
It appropriately is called “the leap of faith”. The goal is to make it to the top of the pole and jump as far as you can to touch the football hanging a few feet out. And as you jump you shout a declaration over your life to yourself and everyone to hear.
I thought at first volunteering to go first would be awesome, after all a few people seemed super nervous and I have a harness and I’ve done stuff like this and rock-climbing before so no big deal! But the higher I climbed up the pole, the more the chatter in my head reminded me “you never go first, why did you volunteer now, you can’t do this!”
Close to the top of the pole you can see there is a little place to stand. When I got there, I thought “ok, this isn’t so bad and then the instructor proceeds to tell me the top is not the plank but the very top of the pole! The pole that may I add is barely big enough for my two feet and that shakes just as much as my now Jell-O legs!
Once I finally made it to the top I stood up tall, legs shaking and all. I knew exactly what I wanted to declare over my life. A seemingly simple truth that I have heard over and over in my life but at this moment made me feel so brave and fearless that nothing else mattered. So, at the top I shouted for all to hear that “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and makes me brave!”
Then I jumped!
Now I know some of you might be thinking “but Mallory you had a harness”. But at that moment the Lord showed me so much of His faithfulness and courage that going into the next few months of uncertainties on this race and even what will happen after I know He will make me brave enough and give me the courage and strength to complete it. Because When I jump, He is ALWAYS there to catch me!
Sometimes in our lives God puts people around us as an example of faithfulness and courage for us to follow their example and other times He is calling us to take the risk and BE THE EXAMPLE to those around us that will step out in faith because they saw we had the courage to JUMP FIRST!
