Intentional Risk Taking
My church has a new bold and brazen pastor name Gilbert. Today I had the joy of listening to him define a BIG vision that called us to a life of greater significance and there were two things he said that I LOVE.
1. Exponential faith thinking forces you to your knees in prayer and creates something you can’t take credit for.
2. “The point of life is not to arrive safely at death,” credit to Mark Batterson or Hunter Thompson.
When I was about 18, soon to graduate from high school, I saw this clip of Francis Chan on a balance beam (See 3-minute video below). He likened the beam to our life routine. “When things start to get a little rocky this is what we do,” he said, then he proceeded to lay down on the beam and hug it like a little boy, clinging to life itself as he talked through fears and worries and how it just feels better to be living in the safe and familiar; a nice family, a nice home, no sun rays that kill, nothing risky, because we don’t really want to experience pain or suffering for Jesus.
I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped open as I pondered the lies our cultures sells about security, happiness, and comfort.
He continued to talk, now with his legs fully wrapped around the beam, “And then our greatest prayer is this, ‘God you know what, I would love to die in my sleep, and not even feel it and go up to heaven.’ And then suddenly you wake up and stand before the judge and you go…” Francis paused as he dismounted the beam while proudly and perfectly raising his hands before the heavenly throne.
“And God will say,” Francis continued, “‘Wow. Well done. You’ve lived the safest life possible, you didn’t slip, you didn’t fall.’ That’s not the life that God calls us to. That’s where the majority will head, but I don’t want to go where the majority goes.”
Something clicked for me then. The image seared in my mind; I don’t want to live a life that hugs the balance beam. I want an adventure with God.
Since then, life has been a series of steps leading my feet way out of their comfort zone. The very real and valid fears, or uncomfortable and sad goodbyes, never outweigh the gift and joy of new friends I’ve met who are making a difference across the globe.
God has led me through mountains and valleys and continues to gently guide Michael and I into the windy roads of parenting. Today our greatest adventure and risks look a little different. We get to make counter-cultural decisions about how we raise our children and have the joy of seeing them fall and pop right back up.
We’re asking the questions – what values do we want our girls to embody? How do we raise kids that love Jesus and as a result love people? What does it look like to take risks with God now that we are a family? And finally – How in the world do we spend more time with Jesus when our body just wants to sleep all the time? Let me know if you have the answers!