I was reminded of what season we were stepping into when I saw a picture of a bird with a leaf over its head and the caption below saying, “I guess Fall is here.”
This brought sadness to me as I realized that my summer was coming to an end. These past few months have been the best summer I have had in a really long time. I’ll admit that it was spiced up with a new interest in skydiving but that’s not the only reason for this lively season.
The first skydive jump started this whole journey, but I won’t go in details about that experience, you can read about it in my blog called, “The Amazing Jump in the Sky”. Why this year I changed my mind and had to be in the sky to have that panoramic view still puzzles me. After taking that first leap, it felt like a key opening a padlock, releasing the chains that had me bound in fear of parachutes and heights.
Ultimately, we know deeply that the other side of every fear is a freedom. – Marilyn Ferguson
Like a crazed woman I had to have more of this amazing experience of leaping out of a perfectly good plane. Repeatedly, I did more tandem skydive jumps trying to wrap my brain around the phenomena of free falling. Slow baby steps were made until I got used to being at a high altitude in the sky and handling a parachute.
Over and over my instructor nudged me further out of my comfort zone to the point that I now love the free fall part and enjoy maneuvering the parachute to landing. After eighteen jumps I can honestly say that I am no longer afraid of the parachute and that I can skydive without hyperventilating or freaking out. This is huge for me.
Skydiving isn’t what made the summer an exceptional WOW in my life, it was what I learned about myself. I realized that this fear imbedded deep inside of me was preventing me from doing some awesome stuff that God wanted to introduce me to.
It’s pretty cool when God says, “it’s time to deal with this problem” and then teaches me what I’m capable of doing when I grab the reigns of courage and take those first crazy, nervous steps into the unknown. Looking back, I can say that this has been one of the most amazing WILD RIDES of my life.
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
I believe that God created us with a yearning for adventure. No wonder there are so many scriptures in the Bible about courage and strength, God knew we would need encouragement when we encounter obstacles that try to prevent us from moving forward in our journey.
Conquering these deep imbedded fears wasn’t the only thing that happened. Through all these activities I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know some wonderful people and being presented with new opportunities.
I’m a firm believer that no matter the circumstance, good or bad, God loves being in the middle of every situation and blessing us beyond our imagination. You can’t beat that especially when God is involved!
“I think my favorite thing about seasons changing is the opportunity to look different.” — Taylor Swift
My friends say I look different, more passionate. My attitude has changed and I’m more daring and courageous ready to reach beyond my comfort zone.
Now that the Fall season is upon me, I think I am going to dream a little bigger, burn a little brighter, stand a little taller, dig a little deeper, reach a little further, and love a little harder.
As I reflect on my recent adventure, I have to ask myself, how is God going to top this? But somehow in His undeniably amazing way I will be WOWED again and again with more wild adventures that keep me beyond the unknown stretching me into new growth and into a better me.
“It’s a new season. A perfect opportunity to do something new, something bold, something beautiful!”
Matthew West has a new song out called “What If”. I have decided that this is my new theme song for my life. “What if today’s the only day I got? I don’t wanna waste it if it’s my last shot, no regrets in the end, I wanna know I got no what ifs”.
If I had to sum up this summer, it would go like this: Fear has been conquered and left in the dust only to marvel at me making leaps and jumps into the unknown with new friends to enjoy it with!
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist. – Oscar Wilde
I encourage you to step out into the unknown with God. He’s got your hand and He’ll lead you upon the most amazing journey you’ve ever been on. It’s a new season, GO FOR IT!!
Cover photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
Gwen
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