Flying looks easier than it is.
When I was a little girl, I remember practicing a trick on my backyard swing over and over again. Finally, when I had perfected it to a three-year old's standard, I proudly and excitedly called my parents out to watch the show.
"Mummy, Daddy, Watch this! Watch this!"
As they walked out onto the deck of our house, I took a deep breath and bolted down the stairs, around the backyard and up onto the swing. I jumped onto the seat (stomach first) and flung up into the air like a launching bird—as my parents watched in pure astonishment.
The swing came down, but I was not on it. I kept flying up into the air, flying! But gravity took its hold and I fell from mid-air to the ground like a pancake in a frying pan.
It would've looked pretty funny and as I looked up I saw my parents bent over laughing hysterically thinking it was all a part of the act.
Wake-up call
Unfortunately, the ground was harder than I anticipated and the hit drove my bottom teeth through my top lip.
As I lay there, stunned and bewildered, my parents rushed to my side having now seen the blood on my mouth. As they began assessing the damage, they bundled me up and took me inside for repair.
Perhaps this was the beginning of my superhero antics, but it did not end well this first time around.
The feeling of flying was wonderful, but the return to earth was a wake-up call—even for a three-year-old.
Catch me if you can
When my little brother was a toddler he used to stand at the top of the stairs. As my dad walked past, he would jump from the stairs and call, "catch me dad!" in mid-air, believing without doubt that my dad would catch him (which he did by the way).
It didn't matter how sudden or how thoughtless this act was, my brother would always jump with full confidence and faith that my dad would catch him every time.
When I think of his faith, it makes me realise that this is what God does for us. Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 10-11 says, "He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them aloft."
Leap of Faith
No matter our actions or thoughtlessness, or how sudden our mistakes are, God is always ready to catch us. And even when we hit the ground with a thud, he is there to bundle us up and repair us.
Sometimes it feels like a leap of faith every time we venture out into our daily lives. We don't really know what waits ahead of us, but we do know who waits ahead of us, and beside us and behind us. He is our refuge, and his eye is always on us.
Psalm chapter 91, verse 4: "He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."
Cartia Moore is a connoisseur of fine chocolate and a sword fighter, trained and skilled in the art of fencing. She is currently studying a bachelor of arts majoring in drama. Her focus is film, television and sword-fighting sequences. She hopes to graduate and form her own drama and acting school.
Cartia Moore's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/cartia-moore.html