You Can Jump

I stood on the edge in the hot summer sun. The water I was covered in gathered around my hands which gripped the rails behind me ever so tightly. The rest dripped fifteen or so feet to splash into the pool below. My breath seemed to have stopped. Time too as my friends and family below looked on.

“Jump!” Someone shouted. I did. Gravity reached up and plucked my ten-year-old frame from the sky, jerking me into the waters below at a speed alien to me. SPLASH!

I found my footing at the bottom of the pool, kicked to the surface, and broke the bubbling surface with the ferocity of a lunging reptile to the cheers of everyone. Actually, I don’t think anyone cheered except my mom. Everyone else remarked on how long it took for me to stop peeing my pants and let go of the rail.

It wouldn’t be the last time I would jump. It wouldn’t be the highest thing I would jump from either. Nearly three decades later I’m still jumping.

These days the pool side balconies of my youth have been replaced by high dives and high cliffs. Gravity still plucks me from the sky. The water still whips into a frenetic froth upon entry. And the exclamations of my companions is a mixed bag of “attaboys” and indifference.

I’m ok with that. I don’t jump for them. I jump for me.

I’m not a daredevil. I never have been. I like to have fun, but my fun is usually of the measured and calculated variety.

I don’t jump to impress anyone. I don’t jump to feel like I’m flying. I jump because I’m afraid.

When I reach the top of some high place I have already decided I am going to jump, and so I do it. Not because I’m brave, but because I am not brave. I jump because I’ve made a promise with myself to never again let fear hijack my life.

I say “never again” because there have been plenty of times I did let fear hold me back. There are have been entire dreams remain dormant, unique opportunities pass by, and chances to make a difference spin away—all because of fear. There have been plenty of times in my life I’ve let fear hijack my response. Now, I’m aiming for something different.

Whether its a leap from a ledge or a plunge of faith into some unknown tomorrow—fear doesn’t win. It doesn’t even get to get in the game. Life’s bold steps take bold trust in a good God that knows better than I do what the outcome will look like.

Don’t let your fear tie you down, hold you back, or keep you down. Climb. Dream. Scale. Jump. Make up your mind on the way to the top you will go for it with all of the boldness you can muster.

Father's Day

Last year for Father's Day I was in Ecuador. We were in this tiny little cinder block church with one fading loud speaker. It was my first time to experience an international worship service. It was a great experience. In the year since, I've become a father myself, and Father's Day means so much more. The following is a blog I wrote and shared last year while in Ecuador. It is a small excerpt from the book "Jesus Among Other Gods" by Ravi Zacharias. While reading it I felt that it was a great piece to share in light of Fathers' Day. The excerpt is followed by some of my own personal thoughts.

"A few years ago, a former Olympic athlete came to visit me. He was looking for some direction in his life. He was a strong and solidly built man. It was a privilege to be around him--just in the hopes that muscles were contagious!

He told me of the time he was representing his country at the Olympics. It was a story of dreams that had struggled against a potential nightmare. From the age of twelve, the Olympics had been all he labored for. He had put every penny he earned and every purchase he made into someday becoming a gold medalist in the event he loved. He was totally focused. This is what he wanted. But he had a very turbulent relationship with his father, who had no interest in this dream of his, and, therefore, he had funded every penny himself.

When he was only seventeen, he filmed the world champion in the event for which he was training and broke down his every stride, frame by frame, to study his technique. He then had himself filmed in the same distance and matched it, stride for stride. By precisely piecing together where he was losing the precious seconds to the world champion, he determined to bridge the gap. Through sheer willpower, discipline, and courage, his goal was within reach.

He made the cut for his country's team, and life was suddenly like being atop a floating cloud. He won every heat and was emerging as the surprise and potential winner when the finals came. Was this a dream or was it real? No, it was real, he reminded himself.

He was at the starting point for the finals, and his nation was watching. Millions were cheering for him, and hearts were racing, expecting this 'country-boy-makes-it-big' story to hit the headlines the next day. In fact, I remember watching the event. The gun was about to go off, signaling the start. This was the moment he had waited for most of his life. But the mind with all it's tenacity and resoluteness is also a storehouse of unuttered yearnings.

'From out of nowhere,' he said, 'an unexpected thought suddenly flooded my mind--I WONDER IF MY FATHER IS WATCHING ME.'

That unanticipated thought momentarily overcame him and may have added a fraction of a second to his first two strides, robbing him of the gold. With great credit, he still won the bronze. The third fastest in the world is no mean accomplishment. Yet, to him, the victory on the track lost it's luster when measured against the deeper yearnings of his life--the approval of the ones you love. Little did this Olympian know how my heart was beating as he shared this story with me. I understood him well.

Young dreams may be wild ones, but they are never corrected by ridiculing them. They must be steered by a loving voice that has earned the right to be heard, not one enforced by means of power. This is a very difficult lesson for parents to learn. And, as cultures lose their restraining power, there will be greater need for mutual love and respect between parents and children if a relationship of trust is to be built, rather than banking on authority because of position."

This Father's Day I am overjoyed by the reality of fatherhood. It is better than I could have ever imagined. Also, I'm grateful for an earthly father that never squashed my dreams. I never once had to wonder if he was watching because he was always there to cheer me on in my accomplishments or correct me with great grace and patience through my many-many failures.

I'm also infinitely thankful for a Heavenly Father who has shaped me in my peculiar uniqueness, equipped me for big dreams, measured the distance of my faults by the rule of His mercy, and guided my every step by the light of His Word.

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God." - Romans 8:16 NASB