Letting Go

Hey y'all!

I can't believe that retreat week is over and we are already working with our first group of the 2nd half of summer! Taking that week off was definitely needed. It was a great time to just relax, sleep, and spend some amazing quiet time with Jesus!

One of our retreat events was to go cliff jumping at Rick's Cafe in Negril. There are different planks/cliffs to jump off of all ranging from different heights. There are Jamaicans all around watching us "whities" take the plunge into the beautiful blue ocean below. Before I actually saw one of the high cliffs, I was planning on jumping off regardless of what the mature adult in me was saying, haha. However, as I stepped up onto the platform overlooking the 45 ft fall, (right after reading the sign warning us of injury and death...) I started to get that weird feeling in my stomach as I clutched the hand bars. I have been in these situations before and my normal response was to just step back and laugh it off. However, this time I wanted it to be different. So, I let go and jumped... Wow, that had to be one of the most exhilarating feelings. Just letting go of the ledge and free-falling into the ocean. The only problem was, I didn't land straight in the water.My body bent just a little bit so when I actually hit the water, it turned into a painful experience.

Despite the landing, God taught me a lesson at Rick's that day. Fear can cripple a person. It can keep us from trying new things and it can keep us locked up in this thing we call our "comfort zone". However, fear is not from God. He calls us to let go of the ledge and free fall into the unknown sometimes. We may not know what happens after we let go but we can trust that He will catch us. Sometimes we will get bruises (and won't be able to sit down in a chair), but the bruises are what helps shape us. Our story is sometimes embedded in the scars and we become stronger people because of them.

So even though I will probably NEVER go cliff jumping again, I can honestly say that this experience has helped me a little bit with overcoming the fear of just letting go and trusting that my Maker has my back.

Kells