Step

Step

We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.

“YOU DID WHAT?”

Jonny’s grin was enormous as he squatted to untie his shoes, repeating what he’d yelled to me as he burst through the door, “I did the fifty-foot fall. Twice!”

“It was safe,” Aaron inserted, walking over to wrap me in a hug of greeting and comfort, realizing some damage control might be necessary.

“Don’t worry, Mom. We were told not to look down before we stepped off the platform, so I didn’t. I just stepped. And then I fell fifty feet! But I was attached to the zip line the whole time, so I was safe.”

“Um . . .” My response was interrupted by Aaron’s interjection.

“Don’t worry, I went first. And it was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?” Aaron’s grin caught Jonny’s across the room. “The first step was a doozy, but the kids did great.”

I trust Aaron implicitly as he takes our kids on adventures that leave my safety-loving, adrenaline-avoiding self wincing. And, honestly, I want my kids to be familiar with overcoming that doozy of a first step, whether it be on a zip line platform high in the trees or standing at the top of a double black diamond ski run. Physically overcoming fear of the first step is good practice for when God calls them outside of their comfort zones spiritually, emotionally, and physically.

God, at least in my experience, requires me to take that doozy of a first step in trust. I almost never know the full extent of the plan when he asks me to step; I step in faith and then watch as the plan unfolds.

Stepping first builds my faith and trust, and God knows that. I step faster now than I did years ago, tamping down my fear more quickly, my trust in God having grown as I’ve practiced stepping and being caught, stepping and being caught. I can’t say that those first steps aren’t still a doozy, but they are so, so worth it.

Lord, help us be brave over that doozy of a first step, that we would not miss out on a single adventure along your side. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: Make a list of the first steps you (or those you know) have made in faith, trusting in God. Remind yourself of those other instances when you face your next doozy of a first step.