"Into the Deep"
'Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a catch.’ Luke 5:4
Into the deep. I spent my weekend on a retreat in the mountains trying to answer the question, what going out into the deep really means for me?! What, in my life, is calling me to leave the shore and in turn what is holding me onto that same shore refusing to let me tread out into the deep?!
Such a big question! So many potential answers. And for each of us "the deep" is so personal. We fight the shore everyday. Little things hold us back from truly experiencing God's love and seeking the adventure He has for us! Yet God is longing for each of us to reach out back into the water, brave the deep once more, and experience His infinite love and amazing plans for us.
It's quite obvious that God was working in my heart over these three days in the wilderness as He sent holy men and women to share with us and to challenge us to go further into the deep. The nature that surrounded us begged for me to notice God's beauty! And small group time had me yearning for more and more time with God and the community He was building. But what stands out in my mind as the summation of all these lessons was found for me in a simple trampoline.
Maybe, like me, you grew up prancing up and down on trampolines with friends and neighbors on lazy afternoons. As kids there's something so freeing in that moment you leave the trampoline for a split second of air. I loved those moments of my childhood, where I felt like nothing could stop me, or knock me down, or get in my way.
So, instantly, when we got to the lake this weekend, and I saw there, floating in the middle of it, a big trampoline, kids bouncing up and down. I was eager to jump right on.
After exploring the temperature of the water, testing our feet, and grabbing the required life jackets, a few girls and I ventured out into the water. We made our way to the big floating trampoline and I assumed, as we climb up the ladder to get on, that this would be the exact same as any other trampoline I've ever jumped on!
But this one was different. It was floating. And I definitely underestimated the results that the float would have. We clung to each other trying to just stand up. But as our bodies shifted, so did the ground underneath us. We stood up, then fell. Jumped for a minute, then landed flat on our butts. We walked in circles trying to find a balance. And we laughed the entire time. I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I really just laughed that way. We were falling and losing our ground and yet each of us kept trying to get back up! And each of us could not contain the giggles that ensued as we stood just to fall over again. Then when each of us were ready, we jumped off the edge of the trampoline into the deeper water sometimes to be greeted with a splash in our face or water plunging up our nose, but embracing and enjoying the moment just the same!
In and out of the time at the lake, I took turns having this same trampoline experience with different friends from the retreat. And I couldn't help but think, maybe this was what God wanted me to understand about going "into the deep".
I think that for me, that trampoline was so symbolic of a life lived "in the deep". God is calling each of us to stand up on the trampoline, no matter how many times we get knocked down. If I'd fell down as many times on the cement or even the sand, I suppose I wouldn't have had that same giddy grin on my face. But I wasn't on the cement or the sand, I was on the trampoline which kept springing me back up every time I fell down. So that's just it, when you go out in the deep alone and you don't have God or you don't know His love, it's quite possible that you get knocked down and never find your way back up. But when you go in the deep, with God, and where God calls you, no matter where you land or how many times you fall He manages to push you right back up. And while it's not always where you intended to go, like the momentum that carried us to all edges of the trampoline, you manage to keep a smile on your face because when you place your trust in God, He always seems to know just when to shake you, to push you, and to help you bounce right back up on your feet. And then when you are ready, He knows when to call you to jump into deeper waters.
I think each of us know what the deep is in our lives. What we don't always realize is the amazing moments, like mine on the trampoline, we could be missing if we dont allow ourselves to travel out and explore the waters, knowing that no matter what we find or where we fall God will be there to help us back to our feet.
Don't let fears or pain, threaten your moment with God on the trampoline! Risk going into the deep. And know that with God the result is His, and our role isn't to question it, but to fall perfectly into His deep waters regardless of where they take us!
Into the deep. I spent my weekend on a retreat in the mountains trying to answer the question, what going out into the deep really means for me?! What, in my life, is calling me to leave the shore and in turn what is holding me onto that same shore refusing to let me tread out into the deep?!
Such a big question! So many potential answers. And for each of us "the deep" is so personal. We fight the shore everyday. Little things hold us back from truly experiencing God's love and seeking the adventure He has for us! Yet God is longing for each of us to reach out back into the water, brave the deep once more, and experience His infinite love and amazing plans for us.
It's quite obvious that God was working in my heart over these three days in the wilderness as He sent holy men and women to share with us and to challenge us to go further into the deep. The nature that surrounded us begged for me to notice God's beauty! And small group time had me yearning for more and more time with God and the community He was building. But what stands out in my mind as the summation of all these lessons was found for me in a simple trampoline.
Maybe, like me, you grew up prancing up and down on trampolines with friends and neighbors on lazy afternoons. As kids there's something so freeing in that moment you leave the trampoline for a split second of air. I loved those moments of my childhood, where I felt like nothing could stop me, or knock me down, or get in my way.
So, instantly, when we got to the lake this weekend, and I saw there, floating in the middle of it, a big trampoline, kids bouncing up and down. I was eager to jump right on.
After exploring the temperature of the water, testing our feet, and grabbing the required life jackets, a few girls and I ventured out into the water. We made our way to the big floating trampoline and I assumed, as we climb up the ladder to get on, that this would be the exact same as any other trampoline I've ever jumped on!
But this one was different. It was floating. And I definitely underestimated the results that the float would have. We clung to each other trying to just stand up. But as our bodies shifted, so did the ground underneath us. We stood up, then fell. Jumped for a minute, then landed flat on our butts. We walked in circles trying to find a balance. And we laughed the entire time. I can honestly say I can't remember the last time I really just laughed that way. We were falling and losing our ground and yet each of us kept trying to get back up! And each of us could not contain the giggles that ensued as we stood just to fall over again. Then when each of us were ready, we jumped off the edge of the trampoline into the deeper water sometimes to be greeted with a splash in our face or water plunging up our nose, but embracing and enjoying the moment just the same!
In and out of the time at the lake, I took turns having this same trampoline experience with different friends from the retreat. And I couldn't help but think, maybe this was what God wanted me to understand about going "into the deep".
I think that for me, that trampoline was so symbolic of a life lived "in the deep". God is calling each of us to stand up on the trampoline, no matter how many times we get knocked down. If I'd fell down as many times on the cement or even the sand, I suppose I wouldn't have had that same giddy grin on my face. But I wasn't on the cement or the sand, I was on the trampoline which kept springing me back up every time I fell down. So that's just it, when you go out in the deep alone and you don't have God or you don't know His love, it's quite possible that you get knocked down and never find your way back up. But when you go in the deep, with God, and where God calls you, no matter where you land or how many times you fall He manages to push you right back up. And while it's not always where you intended to go, like the momentum that carried us to all edges of the trampoline, you manage to keep a smile on your face because when you place your trust in God, He always seems to know just when to shake you, to push you, and to help you bounce right back up on your feet. And then when you are ready, He knows when to call you to jump into deeper waters.
I think each of us know what the deep is in our lives. What we don't always realize is the amazing moments, like mine on the trampoline, we could be missing if we dont allow ourselves to travel out and explore the waters, knowing that no matter what we find or where we fall God will be there to help us back to our feet.
Don't let fears or pain, threaten your moment with God on the trampoline! Risk going into the deep. And know that with God the result is His, and our role isn't to question it, but to fall perfectly into His deep waters regardless of where they take us!
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