“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” ~Eph. 5:1“The Entire Population of the World – with One Minor Exception – Is Composed of Others.” ~John Maxwell, Winning With People
A guy I had started a friendship with got fairly proactive and took me out to a skydiving course with him... We weren’t able to go the day of the course so I ended up going on a day by myself... It was quite the experience! I am in what might be termed as a “student program”, that is I jump on my own without anyone attached to me and each time I jump I have a different objective to achieve. I believe the objective this time was to make it down alive and bonus points for not breaking anything on the landing! (I hope that remains a long standing objective, in case I decide to go again... which I probably will, considering any hope of a low life insurance policy is already shot).
At any rate I showed up at this hick town airport alone asking them if there is anyone who will throw me out of a flying plane (I know of a number of people in the past who have wished to do a similar thing to me... although probably not for the same motives and they would have done so for free). I waited a while but nobody else show up and for some reason this didn’t concern me as you’d think it should have. It turned out for the “better” though... Eventually most of the instructors got ready and in no time (waivers signed) we were in the plane ready to hurl down to the ground hoping a backpack full of clothing material would save us. It was when I was kneeling in the plane ready to take off that I was informed we were going to do something a little “special”, or as the instructor said it “we don’t do this for students, but considering it’s just you...” (Previously I was told we they are dropping me off, quite literally, at 4,000 feet rather than 3,500 because they didn’t want to “stop” for me). What was this “special” treat? They call it “the Superman”; basically instead of taking off normally they get you to lean forward and as soon as your off the ground (this is about the time they asked me if it was okay) the pilot pulls on the stick thrusting the plane from a horizontal position to more of a space shuttle position (a.k.a. straight up)... it is quite interesting how the parts inside your body like to swap places when that happens but eventually my stomach decided to return to the position it was created to be in.
Up up up we went and just about when I thought it was time to get out the instructor said “this is a thousand feet” (three more thousand to go)! To tell the truth I wasn’t all that nervous yet, actually we got up to four thousand feet (everything became really tiny) and I was fine, the door opened I climbed out (almost too soon), I went to the end of the wing and hung there by just my arms... I was fine... I let go of the plane... that didn’t go so good! Suddenly my broken “DANGER!” Light came on in my head, whatever mechanical code it was it stood for, “yep gravity still works and it’s doing an overhaul on you!” Rather than making the all important “X” formation one sees in pictures of skydivers I made more of a squiggly “I” formation like someone who just jumped off a building thinking it was a footstool.
I ended up completing at least one of my objectives (to get down alive, even without braking anything!) and according to my instructors I did fairly well at the rest of the jump too (that is after the parachute caught me).I suppose as I think of this event I’m reminded how we need to live our Christian lives: to let go of the things we are bond to and trust the Lord to catch us (even when we don’t have a back up parachute); to enjoy the ride while being mindful of where we’re headed; and most of all to take “risks” for the Lord! There are a lot of people willing to do some pretty crazy things: Base jumping, diving and biking off cliffs, stunt flying, etc. I wonder though, How many of us are really willing to take a “risk” for the Lord? To take Him at His Word; to “live a life of love”; to reach out to a hurting world? Out of a sudden jumping from a plane doesn’t seem all that bad.
