Thursday, January 15, 2009

Of Challenges, Falling Down, and Skiing

We all face challenges in life. Whether they include deaths of loved ones, questions about relationships, discouragements, uncertainties about the future, or any others, we all have to respond to challenges in our lives; we cannot grow without challenges.

"Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."" (John 12:24-25)

In this passage, Jesus is explaining (albeit in codes and parables) that he must die for the benefit of many others. His death on the cross was the whole reason for his being on earth, and was what would glorify God. It may not have been what he would've liked, but it was God's calling for His life, and Jesus wanted to do what would please God, not humankind or himself.

On New Year's Day, I went skiing in Pennsylvania with my dad. We skiied for about 5 hours total (a few hours before lunch, then a couple hours after), which was actually the same amount of time I slept the night before. For the first time, I went on a black diamond slope, which is usually deemed to be among the most difficult on a particular mountain, and usually I only ski on intermediate slopes. "Black Diamond trails tend to be steep (typically 40% and up) and may or may not be groomed"(Wikipedia). I think that the mountains I've skiied on in Vermont and New Hampshire have been bigger and steeper than the one I'm used to in PA, so I have probably already skiied on a black-diamond equivalent. When I first went down Exhibition, I was amazed that it qualified as a black-diamond slope -- then it got steep, and I reconsidered.

When I ski, I tend to keep track of how many times I fall. I feel accomplished when I don't fall too many times. I skiied on this particular black diamond slope about 4 times, and fell twice on those. Another time I fell on an "easier" intermediate slope -- yeah, yeah, I know -- and other times I would fall because people *almost* ran into me or I *almost* ran into them. Toward the end of the day, I just started falling more and more because I was getting tired. Eventually, I decided that I should probably stop, since I wasn't going to gain any more energy, and I was just going to further damage my record of only falling about 5 times that day.

Sometimes I fell because I turned too sharply. Sometimes I fell because others almost hit me, and it made me nervous having too many people skiing around me. Toward the end of the day, I fell because I was tired and wasn't making as much of an effort to keep my balance.

Each time I fell down, I had two options: to keep laying there in the same place, or to get back up again. Or to keep tumbling down the mountain--that was also an option depending on how I fell. I'll admit, once I realized that I was getting tired, it actually felt nice to just stay sitting or laying on the slope for just a minute or two. However, I was a potential hazard to myself and to others coming down the slope...I didn't want to be run over.

We all fall down in life. Some people fall more often than others, for different reasons. The important thing is to get up again. Yes, you do have the options of continuing to tumble down the mountain or to stay in the same place and "enjoy" resting on the cold wet snow, but those are just plain hazardous.

By skiing a few times on an "expert" slope, I hope that it will help me become a better skiier. I would not become a better skiier just by resigning myself to the intermediate or "bunny" slopes.

I cannot be satisfied staying down when I am challenged. If I fall, I have to get back up, and Christ will help me not to fall again. Getting back into the swing of things, i.e., reading God's Word and worshiping and praying, after you've been challenged, is a challenge (for lack of a better term). I also cannot try to avoid all challenges and live a life of smooth sailing -- it's not possible. Following Christ isn't meant to be easy -- "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23-24). Our life is not our own.

Next time we are challenged, we will stand strong with the help of God and others. If we fall, we will help each other stand again. God is faithful to finish the work He began in us.

almighty
surround my universe
fill me with peace
represent Christ through opportunity