Jumping Into God's Calling

Friday, on the way to Big Blue Madness in Lexington, we stopped at Bramble Ridge Apple Orchard. My Sis-In-Law wanted to stop there with her kids so we decided to join them. Even though I couldn't figure out why on earth we would want to stop at an apple orchard, we did, and now I'm thankful for the spiritual lesson I received there.

The orchard had a hayride, donkeys and sheep the kids could feed. They also had a rope maze, the largest apple slingshot in the world, and of course, apple trees. It really was fun, and even though it was cold and windy, we had a blast.

Ok, so here's what God showed me:

Will and I had a chance to play on a pile of hay bales. We jumped on them and chased each other around on top of them. Fun stuff! I told Will, "Come on, lets jump off." Will told me he didn't want to because he was afraid. The drop was only about three feet, but to him, it must have looked like the high-dive at the pool. He wouldn't budge.

I offered to jump first, and I did, and he still wouldn't. I then had his cousin Chloe do it, and he still wouldn't. So I asked him, "If I was to hold your hand would you jump with me?". He told me yes, so we went to the edge, held hands, and as you can see in the photo, we jumped.

He enjoyed it so much that he didn't need Dad's help anymore and he spent about ten minutes taking runs and jumping by himself, as shown in the "Swan Dive" photo below:

It's pretty easy to draw the parallel between my little boy's uncertainty and our own, with respect for God's calling. As a Christian, it's fun to enjoy the fellowship with God and the joy that comes out of it as we "play on the haybales of life". It's a fun place to be! But, God did not make us just to have fun all the time. Sure, He wants us to have life to the full (which includes fun), but also, He desperately needs us to do the job that he created us for that only we can do. He wants us to jump in and do it when He calls, but often times, we are afraid of all different kinds of weird things. He will not steer us in the wrong direction and believe it or not, His ways are better than ours. If only we will answer His call, He will hold our hand as we jump. When we jump in and do it, we find that it is the fun that we have missed out on all along!

The smiles and laughter that my son and I shared after jumping are the same things you will enjoy when God blesses you after you follow His calling. And, the happiness and laughter Marci and I had while we enjoyed watching Will jump by himself must be how God sees us when we are operating within the will He has for our lives.

If He's calling you out today, I hope you are ready to jump. He'll hold your hand and jump with you, just ask Him.