And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Heb. 12: 1b-2 NLT)
What was I thinking?
I don’t know why I agreed to cross the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Oh, I’m okay with heights; I don’t mind flying in a plane or looking out the window of a high-rise building as long as I’m enclosed. But a flimsy-looking bridge suspended 98 feet above a rocky coast? How could that possibly be fun?
However, when my husband and I vacationed in Ireland, we had an opportunity for an adventure: crossing a 66-foot-long rope bridge from the mainland of the Antrim coast to the tiny Carrick-a-Rede Island. Just the memory of that crossing causes my heart to race and my stomach to somersault. But I was determined to go across. Travelers had to cross single file a few yards apart, so with the wind whipping through my hair, I waited in line. When my turn came, my sweaty hands clutched the rope railing. One jittery step after another, I crept across the narrow planks that lay atop the web of rope. I made it to the island, but I could hardly enjoy the views because I knew I had to walk back across the bridge to return to the mainland.
When it came time to return, I followed a few yards behind my husband across the swaying bridge.
“Stop and let me take your picture,” my husband said.
But I knew if I stopped, I’d be paralyzed. And if I looked down, I’d panic. The only way to get across was to look straight ahead and keep moving.
In a lot of ways, navigating the events of the last few years has felt like crossing that rope bridge. Pandemics. Wars. Violence. Natural disasters. The whole world has become a scary landscape that we nervously navigate. Even though the sun may be shining, and our immediate surroundings might be safe and peaceful, our news feed reminds us that we’re only one misstep away from tragedy. Like a strong gust of wind, disaster can suddenly jolt us from our place of safety. The social structures we rely on can fail. Evildoers can knock us over, and in an instant, life is finished.
If we obsessively scroll through our news app or compulsively watch one news program after another, we could find ourselves paralyzed by fear.
Read the rest at The Glorious Table: https://theglorioustable.com/2022/06/keeping-our-eyes-on-jesus/
