Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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I spent the day at the Boulder Reservoir with a crew of high school students (it’s a rough job, I know) and being there reminded me of my skydiving adventure two years ago.  My roommate, Cathy , and I began a tradition of adventure seeking together by jumping out of a plane and we landed right beside the Res.  I’ll confess, I was much more nervous about landing in the water and drowning than the actual skydiving itself.  Cathy was more nervous about her chute not opening and plummeting to her death.  Fortunately, neither happened!
 

As we sat in the plane, each strapped to another person, we both processed our fear and excitement in different ways.  Cathy couldn’t stop talking, asking the ‘what if’ questions that we really didn’t want to know the answers to.  I got quiet wanting to fully experience every moment.  Our partners were explaining exactly what we were going to do, what different signs meant and preparing us to jump.  I thought it was strange when he reminded me to look around.  Of course I would look around, what else would I do while free falling through the sky?

 
After we jumped, however, like many other skydivers before me, I became transfixed by how quickly the ground was coming towards us and sure enough, my guide tapped my forehead to remind me to look around.  When I did, I saw the mountains around us and watched the horizon change dramatically as we continued our fall.
 
Today I looked at those mountains again and was struck by the fact that I’ve seen them from a perspective that not everyone has.  I’ve seen them from the top, I’ve seen them look small as we approached them and been eye level with the peaks, staring right into them.  And yet, I nearly missed that, instead focusing on the ground below that was coming nearer and nearer.
 
And because I’m the queen of analogies (well, maybe the Lord just speaks to me that way!), I realized how often I do that in life.  I become so transfixed by the ground, the problem, the inevitable coming toward me that I miss the incredible perspective from where i am.
 

And today I was thankful that I’ve seen the view from the top.  That I’ve seen the mountains from above.  And that the ground wasn’t nearly as hard and didn’t come nearly as fast as I might have thought.
 
 
Boulder Flatirons