Growing up, I frequently heard my dad talk about the thrill of skydiving. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division earlier in life and his eyes would twinkle when he talked about the freefall segments of jumps he made during his career.
I guess you could say I “fell for it.” The idea of the adventure – the freedom – the thrill – and I would often say how much I wanted to jump too. One day. Living in Colorado Springs it was a near-daily occurrence to see Air Force personnel jumping in the bluebird Colorado sky. That sight always made me pause. Watching airmen drift through the air with their colorful chutes deployed, often using them to create intentional slices through the air, redirecting themselves to land in a specific drop zone….well, it was magical to my heart.
Fast forward a few years and I found myself in an emergency c-section delivery of my first-born. I’m not exaggerating when I say the exact moment I heard my son’s first cry, the desire to skydive vanished. Poof! The fact that I was even aware of that change in my heart at the moment of welcoming our son into the world says a lot about how important skydiving was to me. Right up until his first cry.
While the romance of the idea of a freefall captured my heart, the actual freefall is not the most peaceful part of the jump. That belongs to the controlled descent. The freefall is a fast, adrenaline-filled attempt to think clearly in order to deploy the chute at the proper time. Freefalling is unnerving. Freefalling is out of control. Freefalling is total surrender to gravity.
Have you ever been in a freefall? It usually happens when life as we know it suddenly changes – and often in a way that is unnerving, out of control, and requires total surrender to the Lord. I would estimate that most of us have experienced a few freefalls in our lifetimes.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
It is the total surrender to the Lord that deploys the parachute. Once the parachute is open, the jumper is suddenly shifted into a much slower fall – more controlled by the canopy above. Most people would say that is where the peacefulness lies – in the controlled, drifting drop to terra firma.
If you are in a freefall, may I encourage you to deploy the chute by trusting the Lord? I don’t want to minimize the reality of the fear you might be feeling. Nor do I want to simplify the circumstances you may be facing. Honestly, though, pulling that ripcord is the only option we have as children of God. He has promised to care for us and that requires trust. It requires surrender. It requires us to hand results…futures…relationships…questions…everything…over to him. And if I can be totally honest, it might be the one-millionth time we do it and it is likely not the last.
Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7
Tell him about your anxieties, fears, angers, frustrations – all of it. And let him care for you with his love, comfort, and promises – all of them. Each moment in his presence – each moment you receive what only he can bring to you – is another whisper that…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 