My husband had one job… ONE JOB.
This is the day I literally jumped through to the other side of my fear. (Thanks Babe!)
We were on a whirlwind trip celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. In 6 days, we drove from Iowa to Myrtle Beach, then down to the Great Smoky Mountains and home again. We averaged like 300 miles a day. It was crazy. But we were together and it was AWESOME. And so fun!
I’d planned the entire trip, but I left ONE job up to Chad. “Babe, book us a zip line. I’m gonna be brave and do this with you.” I tossed him a brochure that had a small zip line course that overlooked beautiful waterfalls. Romantic right?!
What I didn’t know was there was a second zip line course and it was called “The Goliath Line.” YOU GUYS! It’s 475 feet high and you are traveling at over 55 mph?!?!!! “We’re booked,” Chad told me. I had NO idea what was ahead…
We showed up at the Zip line check in.
“You’re down for the Goliath line,” our guide told us. I turned white, my eyes got huge and my stomach churned. I looked at Chad. He smiled at me. I had a moment of insanity and decided then and there I would do this thing.
We zipped a couple of “starter” lines. When it was my turn to jump off the first platform, I thought I was going to throw up. And this was like, the baby line. I didn’t want to look like a total chicken in front of the group that was zipping with us, plus I really DID want to have this experience with my husband, so I held my breath… and jumped. I made it to the other side alive and I decided zipping was actually pretty awesome.
We finally got to the last zip line of the tour… the GOLIATH. It was bigger, badder, longer, higher, SCARIER than I had even imagined. My thinking that zip lining was awesome completely diminished in an instant.
I watched my husband jump with total delight into the vast sky 475 feet above thousands of acres of the Smoky Mountain National Park below him. If I remember right, I’m pretty sure he even went “upside down” on PURPOSE.
And then… it was my turn. There was no turning back. My legs trembled. My stomach flipped. Heights are one of my greatest fears. I wanted to cry. I wanted to back away from the edge. But I didn’t.
Instead, I jumped. I jumped straight into my fear and then…
I SOARED.
It was silent and peaceful. It was surreal. I felt (physically) the closet to God that I ever have in my life. The forest below me was a lush green carpet. The heavens surrounded me. I wanted to stay in that moment forever.
When I landed, I was CHANGED.
We’ve zip lined 3 more times since that day, including zipping over Niagara Falls ON my in-laws 50th Anniversary. Talk about an AWESOME family memory! If I had let my fear rule me, I never would have experienced the freedom of SOARING.
Friend, what is THE THING that God has put inside of you? What is THE THING that burns in your belly and keeps you up at night? What fear are you holding on to that is preventing it from happening? WHY are you not pursuing it? Life is short, my dear friend. DO THE THING. God’s plans are bigger than your fears. What God has planted in you is WORTH the risks. Don’t ask “What if I fall?” But declare “What if I SOAR?”
When I get to heaven, I want to hear “Well done, GOOD and FAITHFUL servant!”
I don’t want to look at my creator and have to answer the question “WHY did you let fear rule you? WHY did you not use your gifts to impact millions of people for My glory?”
No way, sister. I’m going to pursue the passion that God himself placed in me! No matter WHAT it costs me. Choosing to let fear rule me would be dishonoring to my King, my Savior. I’m living to hear “Well done, good and faithful servant!!”
You CAN pursue your passion. You can bring live change to the masses. I know you can. YOU can face your fear AND you can JUMP right through it. You might just find yourself SOARING and coming out CHANGED on the other side.
I’m SO GLAD you all did the Goliath because that encouraged us to do the Goliath which was the BEST ZIPLINE EVER so far. When it is your first one it raises the bar really high!!
I’m so glad you guys did it!! I honestly don’t know if we will ever find one as breathtaking! Amazing!
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