That’s Remarkable!!

My personality can be very misleading. Before people get to know me, they tend to think I’m the very adventurous, adrenaline junkie type. Those who know me best, know what a wimp I am, and that I’m terrified of my own shadow! Just ask my best friend, Lajuana! I skipped school with her one time and ruined her day because I was terrified of getting caught! Needless to say, she never asked me to skip school with her again! *Ann, if you’re reading this, we’ve already been forgiven! And it’s too late to punish her!😂*

Well, last year I did a thing. Something so out of character for me that it left the jaws of my friends and family on the floor! I did something so shocking, it would be the equivalent of CNN reporting unbiased, factual news!! Brace yourselves! I went skydiving!!! You read that right! I jumped out of an airplane at 15,000 ft! For some of you that might not be such a big deal, but for this big wussie it’s HUGE!

Y’all! It was, by far, the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done! Come to think of it, I’m fairly certain, that up to that point, I had never done anything that would even require the word exhilarating!!! Falling at 120 miles per hour! The wind blowing your face around, making you look like it was made of silly putty! Well, that wasn’t my favorite part. My friends know how weird and picky I am about my skin! Anyway, the breathtaking (literally) views! The strange man strapped to your back! The fear in the back of your mind that your parachute could malfunction! The whole thing was just….WOW!!! I have never been more proud of myself! And I’ve never been more relieved for my butt to hit the ground! It will definitely be something I will never forget! Not ever! It left a “mark”so to speak.

It’s crazy. Never in a million years would I have thought I’d do anything of the sort! In fact, I had always said that I would never do anything like that! Then one day I’m having a conversation with my friend, Mark, and he mentioned that they were going skydiving. Mark is the kind of person who rubs off on you. He has a way of making you want to step outside your comfort zone. I don’t know, maybe it was his excitement about the whole thing that made me even remotely think “hey, I think I’ll jump out of a plane too!” I’m not sure, but when he halfway mentioned us going, I was like, hmm, I think I will!! For all I know, it could’ve been one of those cases where you say something and don’t really mean it. You know, like when you’re leaving someone’s house and say, “y’all go with us“, because in you’re mind, you don’t think there’s a remote chance they will?? I’m not really sure, but if that was the case, it backfired, because I said yes!

👇🏽Here’s the link to my skydiving video if you want to watch!!😁

https://youtu.be/TA-8nS4ZNbU

There are many lessons to be learned from jumping out of a plane. For one, sometimes you may have to do things that require you to trust another person. That could be a spouse, a friend, a therapist, a doctor, your tandem jump guy, or God. I gotta tell you, often times, trusting anyone else (even God) isn’t easy! Not by a long shot. The weird thing is, it seems like it was easier for me to trust the tandem guy, whom I had just met, than it is (sometimes) for me to trust God. That sucks to have to admit that, but it’s the truth! I can’t be alone in this! I want to take matters into my own hands and handle situations that I have no business handling. Pretty much the equivalent of me jumping out of a plane by myself, with no instructions, and how stupid would that be??? Metaphorically speaking, I’ve jumped out of my fair share of planes without even so much as a thought of my tandem guy!

I’m going to try to live my life remembering that I have the ultimate tandem guy. God has my back! And He has yours too! And He’s a whole lot less awkward than being strapped to some strange man. Well, except when I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing, then it gets pretty dang awkward! Unlike the skydiving tandem guy, who unstraps himself from you the minute you hit the ground, God will never unstrap Himself from us! Once we take the leap with Him, so to speak, we’re strapped for life! Now, He’s a gentleman! He’ll never force us to be good! But when we do something stupid, and we will! When we take a flying leap out of that plane, without our tandem guy, He’ll be there waiting to pick you back up, all you have to do is ask!

* “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” *