Your sobbing, wild-eyed, gasping leaps of faith

 

What leaps of faith have you taken?

 

I’m talking about a heart-stopping, bawling, howling plunge into the unfamiliar—with God.

 

A breath-taking, blubbering, dive into the untried, the unproven—with God.

 

I wince when I type the phrase “leap of faith” 

because its overuse has stolen its intensity, its radicalness.

 

Let's be clear: I’m talking about faith that calls you to hurdle yourself over the edge—blindfolded, shrieking—into the unknown, with God.

 

You have no guarantee things will work out—at least not in the way you hope. Or the way you plan.

 

You can only begin to imagine what surprises await you.

 

You wonder how you’ll hold up, or if you’ll even live through it.

 

You feel the last-minute doubts, the dread, the teeth-gritting, the labored breathing.

 

The heart-racing, stomach-knotting, head-spinning terror.

 

The throbbing, queasy feeling of being out of control.

 

You know only three things:

 

1. God asked you to do something way beyond your abilities and comfort zones, something that scares you out of your wits and makes it hard to sleep at night.
2. Everything within you cries out, “I must do this. I cannot not do this.”
3. God, who is trustworthy, will be with you every moment.

 

What screaming, wild-eyed, gasping leaps of faith have you taken?

 

What did God teach you through it?

 

What did you learn about yourself?

 

What did you learn about God?

 

In what ways did the experience strengthen your faith?

 

I think your children and grandchildren 

need to hear your story, don’t you?

 

Get busy and write!

And have fun!

 

What can your memoir teach about looking fear in the face?

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face," said Eleanor Roosevelt. "You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." 

Think back. When did you look fear in the face? When did you do the thing you thought you could not do?

And what can your memoir teach your kids, grandkids, and other readers about taking a wild-eyed, white-knuckled leap of faith?

Read the quotes below, slowly, and pause as long as it takes to rediscover personal stories they revive, incidents you might have forgotten long ago.

“The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be…

Because of all I may become

I will

Close my eyes

And leap!”

(Mary Anne Rachmacher)

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” (Anais Nin)

“You can’t test courage cautiously.” (Annie Dillard)

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” (Nelson Mandela)

“Courage is contagious. When a brave young man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.” (Billy Graham)

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” (Anais Nin)

What stories do these quotes bring to mind?

What courageous thing have you done? Perhaps when you triumphed over fear, others watched. Or maybe you looked fear in the face and took action, even though no one else ever knew about your bravery. Was Anais Nin right? Did your life expand in proportion to your courage?

On the other hand, perhaps some of these quotes reminded you of a time you refused to take that leap, when you remained tight in a bud and chose not to blossom. Was Anais Nin right? Did your life shrink in proportion to your lack of courage?

Looking back now, whether you took that courageous leap of faith or not, what did you learn from your choice?

How did God help you? As a result, in what ways did your relationship with God change?

What Bible verses pertain to your story?

How did you change as a result of your experience?

Did you do things differently in the future?

What valuable lessons can you pass on to others?

Write your stories! Why? Because your children, grandchildren, and other readers will face situations in which their courage and faith are wobbly. Your story could make all the difference in their outcomes.

Sobbing, wild-eyed, gasping leaps of faith

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Breaking news!

Today Charlie Hale posted a mini-excerpt from my “Where I’m From” over at his blog, along with pieces from a couple of other people.

First read Charlie’s post, Who Are You? Where Are You From? Then read today’s post, The Ancient Warrior, Hula Hoops and Yeats. (My piece is the Hula Hoop one.)

Have you been writing a “Where I’m From” piece? I hope so. (See my August 31 post, Where are You From.) Charlie’s posts will give you oodles of inspiration! 

OK, now on to today's original post:

What leaps of faith have you taken?

I’m talking about a heart-stopping, bawling, howling plunge into the unfamiliar—with God.

A breath-taking, blubbering dive into the untried, the unproven—with God.

I wince when I type the phrase, “taking a leap of faith,” because its overuse has stolen its intensity, its radicalness.

I’m talking about faith that calls you to hurdle yourself over the edge—blindfolded, shrieking—into the unknown, with God.

You have no guarantee things will work out.

You can only begin to imagine what surprises await you.

You wonder how you’ll hold up, or if you’ll even live through it.

You feel the last-moment doubts, the dread, the teeth-gritting, the labored breathing. 

The heart-racing, stomach-knotting, head-spinning terror.

The throbbing, queasy feeling of being out of control.

You know only three things:      

(1) God asked you to do something way beyond your abilities and comfort zones, something that scares you out of your wits and makes it hard to sleep at night.

(2)  Everything within you cries out, “I must do this. I cannot not do this.”

(3) God, who is trustworthy, will be with you every moment.

What screaming, wild-eyed, gasping leaps of faith have you taken?

What did God teach you through it? What did you learn about yourself? About God? In what ways did the experience strengthen your faith?

Write your stories!

Resources and links:

Where are you from,

http://spiritualmemoirs101.blogspot.com/2011/08/where-are-you-from.html

Charlie Hale’s Who Are You? Where Are You From,

http://storiesconnectloveheals.com/2012/02/15/who-are-you-where-are-you-from

Charlie Hale’s The Ancient Warrior, Hula Hoops and Yeats,

http://storiesconnectloveheals.com/2012/02/18/the-ancient-warrior-the-hula-hoop-and-yeats