Up On the Mountain of Faith

(c) Staci Stallings, 2003

"Help! Help! No help, I'm sliding!"

"You're on skis, Ashley. That's the point."

The poor girl at the top of the line who was headed to the bunny slope lift was scared to death-paralyzed with fear to the point that any tiny move seemed destined to pitch her down the mountain out of control. Her friend seemed not to understand the direness of her situation. To her, skiing was easy. She didn't understand, but I did.

Always longer on doubt and fear than on calm and cool in the sports arena, I understood. Movement on skis seems unfamiliar, unexpected, and dangerous. What seemed like such a fun idea only moments before now seems like the dumbest thing anyone's ever talked you into.

Okay, so even now there are hundreds of people swooshing down the slopes effortlessly. They obviously know what they are doing. You obviously don't, and so fear takes over. No, not just fear but overwhelming panic that grips your gut and wrenches out small terrified shrieks. This is nuts-craziness. Much better to turn back from this unknown now and go back to the safety of what you do know-life on safe, solid, non-snow-packed ground.

And yet, what Ashley couldn't see at that moment, what she couldn't yet feel is how wonderful it feels to fly, to feel yourself swooping down the mountain with only the wind and the white powder for friends. It's exhilarating, awe-inspiring, life changing. But right there, on the fringes looking in, it just feels like something you'll never be able to do. Something that's destined to kill you if you slide one more inch.

I think that's how a lot of people live life. They see the people who have Jesus in their lives. They see the people who have peace, and it looks so wonderful. Yet they are unsure of how or if to make that decision. Unsure if they can really "do this."

The one thing these people don't need is those "skiers" of us acting like they're silly for feeling like they do. They aren't silly. Their fear is real, and if we don't help them through their fear, they're likely to click those skies right back off and go sit down. Instead of acting superior to them or worse being condescending to their fears, we need get back to the place where we were fearful of taking this giant leap of blind faith and allow them to work through their fear with us at their side.

Undoubtedly in no time at all they will be swooshing down the slopes of faith completely forgetting they were ever afraid of taking that first step. At that point because you have shown them how, maybe, just maybe they'll offer some understanding to another fearful skier along the way home. One at a time, maybe we can get everyone in this fearful world up onto that mountain of faith and skiing through it like a pro.

~*~
Check out more articles by Staci at: http://www.stacistallings.com/articles.htm You'll feel better for the experience!