We spent last week at Table Rock Lake being a part of the teen camp for the Illinois District in the Church of the Nazarene. I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker every night for this camp and then Ashly was the camp nurse. Our boys got to tag along and participate in the activities as well as being with us for the event. As a bonus, my parents were there, and we got to spend time with them and they got to help care for the boys while Ashly and I did our duties.
Being on the lake, we had access to the amenities of the campground and God’s creation. The campground owns several Mastercraft boats as well as a couple of WaveRunners and part of every day is built in lake time. SWEET is right!!!!!!!
One of the spots to sign up for each day is cliff jumping. I was stoked for this, but I had to set aside my need for speed and adventure to keep my back in healing mode. It’s not quite ready for a 50ft jump!!! But, my boys were, and I got to witness something absolutely remarkable as ALL THREE of our older boys made the leap! Michael wasn’t quite ready.
As we approached the cliff, Aaron commented, “It’s not that big!” with all the confidence of a grown man. That confidence quickly faded as we climbed up the rocky path and stood over the edge looking across the lake and seeing how far down it was to the water.
AJ faced his fear the day before without me and had already jumped so he leapt this day without hesitation. Aaron and Axton on the other hand were paralyzed with fear. I recorded their internal struggle as they bravely approached the edge yet were overcome with panic and had to back up and couldn’t jump.
I videoed Aaron for a full 2 minutes, talking him to it, through it, encouraging him to go and reassuring him when he couldn’t. We counted down from 10 to 0 about 6 or 7 times without success. AJ had made the jump twice and pep-talked his brothers each time in passing as he threw himself to the water below. Axton struggled for sure, but somehow found a little more strength and finally took the plunge. He climbed back up and with much less hesitation, took off again! Aaron still couldn’t bring himself to jump.
It was finally time to go and everyone else had started making their way back to the boat for the ride back to the camp and we were out of time. Aaron, visibly distressed for quite some time now, was feeling the weight of the world in this moment compounded by the time constraint. I said a final countdown. He didn’t jump. We turned to leave. He resisted. I persisted. He refused to leave. I said then go!
I watched in that final moment as my 10-year old wrapped his head around the fear he was battling, gathered his thoughts for one last internal battle, cautiously inched to the edge, and gently yet deliberately left the safety of the rock.
Even though he may not have fully understood it and still may not even be aware, it was then that he experienced something so powerful that I want you to latch onto today.
FEAR of leaving the safety of the rock was keeping him from experiencing the FREEDOM of flying!
What is HOLDING you back from experiencing ALL that God has for you?
I echo Paul’s prayer to the Colossians (1:9-14) as he shared his desire and prayer for them to be filled with awareness and understanding from the Spirit of God so they could live the life we were ALL called to live. God has created a way to experience the rush of a lifetime, but you must leave the known, the familiar, the comfortable, the secure, in order to know the feeling of flying.
Get off the rock of apathy, laziness, fear, safety, and discover the freedom of life in Christ!!! Maybe it’s your FIRST step and maybe it’s just the NEXT step!!!
#JustJump
#FearIsUnforgiving
#RestorationOfChristsKingdom
#RestoringWholenessOfLife
Brett
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