This is a draft of a post I started this past summer. I thought I'd finish it and post the thought behind it.
(this summer)
A few weeks ago I heard a talk in church on the difference between a leap of faith and a long steady climb of faith.
A leap of faith takes only an instant of time. It has momentum behind it. Sometimes it comes without us even knowing we are jumping into the unknown.
But sometimes, hopefully not too often, we are called to make a long steady climb up the mountain to the Lord. In these times we must muster every ounce of courage to make it to the summit.
(finished today)
We take a leap(of faith) into marriage with all that's in us. But all to often we forget to cherish that faith that brought us together. We look on all the "pebbles" our life together and forget that they too are a part of a larger, more powerful Rock. These trials are to give us footing, together. Sometimes if we are not careful, we allow those tiny things to pile up enough to build a cliff that one of us will jump from. We then want to claim faith and erase all that has gone before, leaping into other unknowns.
The better way, God's way, is slow and steady. My father-in-law used to say "slow and steady wins the race". How smart he was! Making that first leap of faith gives access to the second, longer climb. Without that leap momentum is definitely not ours. As I tell my client at school all the time "To start walking you must stand" and "Put one foot in front of the other" (recognize the reference?)
Long, steady climbs, build endurance. They give us the time to think and to pray. They strengthen muscles, all be it sore muscles. We come to understand our own small place in the universe and how important we are to the most powerful person in that universe.
My life has seen some rocky times, as most of us see in our life times. These rocky places serve to strengthen my footing. They provide a time to concentrate on the Rock of my life. They give me a way to, sometimes even out of my apathy, return to Him who gave me life. I also return my thoughts to His son, who through his sacrifice, gave me eternal salvation and a chance for exaltation.
I am now on that long steady climb. It's usually one step forward and two steps back. But I figure as long as I keep going UP the hill I will make it to the summit, someday.
It's all in the journey, right?
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