Is it time to jump?

This morning, Pastor Mark (Mark Holland - Gretna United Methodist) spoke about breaking walls down, using the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. It was a great sermon, but I really got stuck what he said about the impala.

An impala is an African antelope. They aren't very tall, but can run faster than most animals and jump up to nine feet high - or 33 feet in one direction! However, the impala can be contained by a fence no taller than three feet, which is about their height) because the animal will not jump if it can't see where its feet will land.

Wow.

We won't jump if we can't see where we will land. We won't take risks because we can't see what the outcome will be. We stay behind the walls we have built around ourselves because we are familiar with our surroundings.

I can hardly wait to start my Master's Degree this fall, but there are days (and a lot of them lately) that terror rips through my heart. I can't see the end of this path. I have absolutely no idea what will happen in three years when I finish.

When I let the terror take over, I tell myself that I just need to turn around and go back to where I came from. Go back into my safe life and live it out until I die. That's what a sane person would do, right?

Fortunately, a good night's sleep brings my true sanity back into my mind and I realize that though I have no idea where God is taking me, it's going to be an adventure.

Do you allow yourself to be contained by something as small as a 3' fence because you can't see the outcome if you were to make the jump?

There are days I have to keep reminding myself that everything will work out alright. It takes a lot of reminding on those days and sometimes by the end of the day I've cried my eyes out and fall asleep exhausted by the pure emotional turmoil of the whole thing.

In the light of the next morning, though, I realize that jumping feet first into the maelstrom of life might take a little courage, but the outcome could be glorious!

So, thank you Mark for giving me the story of the impala. This will now be my symbol of courage and freedom!