Saturday, January 14, 2012

Push

Was I pushed?

Or, did I jump?

When telling the story
of my journey with Christ,
the early days of Whispered
Hopes, the days before we
even knew the name, I use
the word PUSH.

People who don't know me,
and some of those that do,
might hear PUSH as violent,
overriding free will.

Nope. That's not it at all.


push
verb (used with object) to press upon or against (a thing) with force in order to move it away. to move (something) in a specified way by exerting force; shove; drive: to push something aside; to push the door open. to effect or accomplish by thrusting obstacles aside: to push one's way through the crowd. to cause
to extend or project; thrust. to press or urge to some action or course: His mother pushed him to get a job... verb (used without object) to exert a thrusting force upon something. to use steady force in moving a thing away; shove. to make one's way with effort or persistence, as against difficulty or opposition. to extend or project; thrust: The point of land pushed far out into the sea. to put forth vigorous or persistent efforts. dictionary.com


The person originating the PUSH couldn't be in the water, waiting for me to jump in from the side of the pool. I was on the high dive. I was afraid of heights. The PUSH needed to come from someone standing right next to me, on the diving board, a person willing to risk with me, someone who knew the water below was deep enough to catch us both.

Like a first time skydiver, who needed a not-so-gentle nudge from the plane, or a novice hang glider coaxed from a cliff, I wasn't going to jump off the high dive on my own. My life was warm and dry, predictable and safe.

Kids jump into life all the time, dive into joy. Kids risk.

"I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. Matthew 18:3-5 MSG

Next time I tell the story, I hope to be more articulate so that everyone will hear me saying what I really mean:

Thanks for the PUSH.

Rw
.
Karen Roach, Photographer 123rf.com
High Dive

2 comments:

Cheree said...

Very nice, Renee. Reminds me of a book I'm reading right now called "The Flinch". While it isn't a spiritual book, it does talk about how that ability to risk as children turns into "the flinch" that us adults use to avoid risk. I agree wholeheartedly that our walk with Christ often is the result of a push. Thanks for another great article.

Rw said...

"The Flinch" by Julien Smith?