At some point one is faced with a simple question. Do I step out trusting, having faith in another or do I sit. One is a guaranteed disaster, the other is potentially embarrassing, na?ve, and seen as foolish. There is no guaranteed answer as to which choice is the correct one. Blind leaps are usually that way.
When things do not go your way the clich? that many use to comfort you is that the experience is one of learning, growing, and maturing. The dilemma begins when one tries to use this experience as an answer to the next wicked problem. When the experience challenges your values and priorities the real dilemmas begin! Which will it be? Does one toss one’s values and priorities based on a single experience? Is the combination of experience and advice compelling enough to drive a new set of values into your heart? Is there something inherently contradictory when another’s choice begins the process of giving up on your values and adapting the values that you disagreed with in the first place?
History is full of those who held their ground or took blind leaps of faith in the oddest moment. The night was dark. The water was full of wind and waves. “They were maybe three or four miles out when they saw Jesus walking on the sea, quite near the boat. They were scared senseless, but he reassured them, ‘It's me. It's all right. Don't be afraid.’ So they took him on board. In no time they reached land—the exact spot they were headed to.” (John 6.19-21)
I wonder if I would have had the courage to take a leap of faith or if I would have been compelled to play it safe. It is easy to assume now that I would have been the steady bold one but I am not so sure. Life is full of things unfair, unkind, and non-accepting. Do I accept the lessons that these things bring or do I hold onto mercy, love, and unconditional acceptance. My leap is to compassion.
