Quit Hugging the Beam!

Marty and I first watched this video about a year ago. Since then a phrase commonly heard around our house is "quit hugging the beam." The above is not the routine we want to stand before our judge one day and have scored. What does it look like to quit hugging the beam? For us, it looks like a family taking a step of faith in obedience to a call from God. Is it scary? YES! Our faith muscle is weak and God is asking us to learn new skills and grow stronger muscles.

When I watch my Julie at gymnastics, I'm always amazed at how fearless she is when learning new things. I see other little girls who hug the beam, because they're afraid of falling. They need to hold the coach's hand and it may take months before they're willing to dismount on their own. The coach is patient and encouraging to both types of children. She's there to catch them when they fall and keep them from face planting on the beam when they try to learn a new skill too quickly. In life, we have the most amazing coach. He's our encourager. He loves us when we hug the beam. He loves us when we stand on our own, confident that He will catch us if we start to fall. He loves us when we are overconfident and nearly face plant as a result. He's not just our coach, but our Daddy God. He's proud of everything we do for Him.

Here's the thing though, in gymnastics and life, there comes a day for each of us to "quit hugging the beam." God and every other good coach expects us to get up and try! We must do our best confident that when we place our faith and trust in him, he will catch us when we fall.

For our family, this next step includes an international adoption. We're pushing up from the beam and beginning to stand. It's scary, terrifying really. It requires more faith than God has ever asked of us before. We know that He will hold our hand as we put one foot in front of the other, believing in him to support and uphold us. If we fall, he'll catch us and one day when we "dismount" and stand before the throne, we'll have one more precious jewel to lay at his feet in worship. A little boy, he called us to save. Could we keep hugging the beam? Sure. But, we'd miss the JOY in following where he leads.

Hidden in Christ,
Mandy