This past weekend Lauri and I had supervision of our daughter and son-in-law’s one year old dog, Willow. I don’t think I will ever get used to Lauri talking to Willow and calling me her “grandpa”, but whatever… though… come on… grandpa to a dog… that sounds a little weird, right? But anyway, we enjoyed our time with Willow very much. We are still mourning the passing of our Molly, and it was enjoyable having a dog in the home again.
On Monday, we took Willow for her first ride in the boat. She loves water and she was quite excited about having it totally surrounding her. As we cruised slowly at idle speed out of the marina, she was right up in the bow seats… front paws dangling over the front of the boat… tongue out and ears pricked in excitement. What was this new adventure that her… eh, hmm… “grandparents” were offering her? She was the picture of a child toddler taking in a totally new experience… head swiveling… eyes absorbing it all… curiosity abounding.
Until we exited the marina and I pushed the throttle forward. The engine gave a roar, the wake began to fountain and the boat tipped back until it reached the speed to plane. And Willow? She propelled herself off those bow seats with her tail between her legs and promptly huddled on the floor of the boat with very worried eyes. What had piqued such curiosity and excitement now was a serious cause for concern! Just what torture were her “grandparents” planning for her next?
But you know what? Over the next hour Willow became more and more comfortable out on that boat. And while she never shook her concern completely when we were going fast… she did learn to relax a bit… and dare I say… trust… yes, trust that her grandparents had only good intentions for her.
It strikes me as curious that many times in my life I have been tempted to act like Willow when God has sought to interject adventure and opportunity into my life. Instead of initially reacting in excitement and trust at what God desired to do in my life, I have hesitated and questioned whether He knows what is best for me. Over the years I have sought to seek to trust God more and more in the moments of adventure, because those moments have led to such spiritual growth in my life. I have actually sought to anticipate those times where God disrupts the normalcy of my Christian life and interject times of discomfort, because those experiences have been so fulfilling in my walk with Christ.
Sadly, many Christians never experience the reward of responding to faith challenges when the Holy Spirit brings them into their lives. Instead, they prefer to play it safe and maintain the status quo — and they miss out on so much good stuff!
Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NIV The life I now live… I live by faith… faith that God’s purposes for my life are good and will lead to me being a productive citizen of His Kingdom.
So, let’s not huddle on the floor when God presses the throttle forward in our life… let’s embrace the adventure… thrill in the challenge… and trust in the moment. In the words of C.S. Lewis when one of the characters in his series The Chronicles of Narnia asked if the Great Lion Aslan (Jesus) was safe… “Safe?” Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” If you want to live a safe Christian life then… well… more power to you… I want to sit up in the bow, hanging over the front of the boat in anticipation of what God is going to do next! Is Jesus safe?… no… because he asks us to pick up our cross and follow Him… but never forget… He is good… He’s The King I tell you!
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