When Flyers Must Fly

“Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us” Phil 3:13-14 TLB.

I’m unsure how old I was the first time I sat in the dark beneath the high wire of a trapeze performance. I do recall being very nervous for the one who had left the ledge and was soaring towards the one who was to catch her. Would he be there at the right time? Would he miss her hand? Would she plummet to the floor? Would he lose His grip leaving her with nothing but an empty swing too short to reach? But each time I witnessed a trapeze performance the connection was seamless and the timing was exquisite.

Are you feeling that you woke up a few weeks ago after you had left the ledge anticipating the catch of normalcy only to realize the swing is empty? We were soaring through life with presumed assumptions of having that same job, enjoying that same restaurant, having that same bank balance and enjoying guaranteed health. Suddenly the swing comes our way and we see that it is too short to grab hold to because things we connect with are suddenly missing. So, as we are straining to reach for something…anything…to catch us during this season what are our options? Maybe the only option is to look beyond the swing. Just maybe what can save us is a Person instead of the things upon which we normally depend. When we look beyond the swing, we will see the outreached hand of God who will always catch us. He knows the very second when we left the ledge before we even realized what was up ahead. He has timed His presence perfectly to keep us from falling ensuring that our grip is not what saves us but His grip.

When we feel as if there is an empty swing up ahead, we must maintain our focus, continue our soar with full trust in the faithful catch of God. ‘The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely in…A flyer must fly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.’ Henri Nouwen [former trapeze artist]

‘Your Father has never dropped anyone. He will not drop you. His grip is sturdy, and his hands are open.’ Anxious for Nothing, Max Lucado, p. 48