Remember your first time on the monkey bars? The goal was to get from one end of the bars to the other. You’d seen other kids do it lots of times. They climbed up the ladder, took hold of the first bar and then swung their free arm toward the next. Once they grabbed hold of the second bar, they let go of the first bar and swung that arm toward the next bar. Simple.

But there you stood. Feet firmly placed on the ladder. Mentally wrestling with fear and uncertainty.

In order to even start, you had to sacrifice the safety of the ladder you stood on. Holding tightly to the first bar with one hand, you risked life and limb to swing out with the other hoping you’d reach the second bar.

Whew! You did it! Remember how that felt? It was absolutely thrilling!

But then you had to let go of the first bar and swing your body to the third one. If you didn’t do it just right, you’d fall. No one wants to fall.

That space between the bars, where we hung by hope and the tenuous grip of one little hand…is chaos. Anything can happen. You might reach the next bar, but you might not. No one wants to fall. No one wants to fail.

Like every other little kid on the playground…you probably did a little of both.

But look at you now! You survived the monkey bars and lived to tell the tale. You even mastered a few other daring feats along the way to becoming who you are today. You have a lot to be proud of! Life is seldom easy and accomplishments are almost always hard won.

I know something else about you too. Despite all your success, you have a nagging sense that God has something more, different, or new for you in mind.

We can’t always articulate our destiny, but we can feel it in our bones.

That space between who we are and who we are becoming is filled with mental and emotional chaos. The uncertainty can be so fearsome it’s tempting to just stay where we are and call it good. Well, at least, good enough.

That only works for a while though. Sooner or later your love for God will prove greater than your love for comfort and the status quo. You know it will.

Maybe you feel it already.

It is time to reach for the next bar? Are you ready to let go of that thing that holds you back so you can reach for something greater on your way to becoming someone greater?

Is today the day you say yes to Jesus and the chaos that often comes with it?

What’s holding you back? Be honest with yourself.

Do you need more courage? Ask Him for courage.

Do you need more strength? Ask Him for strength.

Do you need more faith? Ask Him for more faith!

Whatever you need; Ask Him!

Trust that even if you fall, He will catch you. That’s His Grace. And His Grace is indeed sufficient.

He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.

No one ever said it wouldn’t take a little effort on your part too.

In His love and service,

Sharon Bollum