“Daddy, do you want to go and jump in the ocean?”
“Hope its the middle of February, that water is freezing!”
“Please, Daddy?”
“PLEASE?”
“Ok…” [in a dad’s-not-convinced-she’s-really-going-to-do-it-tone.]
And so they walk towards the water that shimmers so well this time of day.
“Ready?”
“Hope, its so cold.”
“Daddy! I’m out here, come ON.”
“Agh, Hope. It’s COLD.”
I stood on the shore line snapping my camera, capturing what I thought was just a hysterical moment. But it ended up being incredibly inspiring…
The look on her face when she jumped in the water.
The way he hesitated to go in.
The gasps for air after diving in.
The rush of excitement & pride as they ran out of the bone-chilling water.
It made me pause, right there on that shore line. And I thought of how I wished I had the guts to jump into so many things like freezing, cold oceans.
I’ve wrestled with these types of feelings before. And I love them. Because they mean there’s an upward call I need to hear. A call to jump to a level that’s not attainable in my own strength.
When we jump, His spirit take us deeper; the places the air feels thin and the water so cold.
When we jump, we live and we know we really lived.
When we jump, we understand all that is really in us; the Power of the One who makes this whole gig possible.
When was the last time a jump took your breath away? Maybe its time to jump…
Congratulations to Susan Gruener, you are the winner of the two, A Confident Heart Devotional books! I’ll be in touch soon. 🙂
8 Comments
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Such a good post Nicki! Loved the pictures. And I can relate to the analogy. I was that girl who would jump in the freezing cold water and beg my dad to join me! Had to work up the courage, get the first shock then it was all good from there! That’s how it should be for me with God, take the jump, the shock of something new and with him it will be all good from there.
I’ve also been skydiving which sounds crazy, but in that split second at the door, you just got to forget the fear and jump. Then you get to enjoy some incredible views of God’s creation!
Nicki, this post is inspiring! It inspires me to JUMP right into the waiting arms of God… my loving heavenly Father, my Jesus with His arms reaching out to me calling, “Come into My Presence” and my Holy Spirit encouraging me from within to follow my Jesus! As I seek Him in my quiet time this morning, I am going to ask Him to strengthen my faith and love, my trust in Him to be there to catch me if I fall…and JUMP! God bless!
ps. Also calls to mind the song “Jump” by Van Halen…lol!
I truly look forward to your blogs. God bless!
This is wildly inspirational to me today! “We can live and die and not know what’s really in us, or we can just jump.”
I am entering a phase of my life where I am being called to jump – a lot. I’m 49 years old, with a 12 and 15 year old. I’ve been a stay at home mom for 14 years, and I find myself in the middle of my own divorce. I am being asked to do so many things I never thought I would.
Through it all, I remember that I am not just being asked to jump, or endure, or cope, or manage. I am being asked by God to embrace, and enjoy, and grow, and learn.
Thank you for this post Nicki.
I have so many times felt this way myself. Self-doubt has a way of making me take a step backwards instead of jumping forward in a leap of faith, pushing my fears aside. God has helped me a lot in this area. I still battle with it from time to time, but I know that God has my back and He will not let me fall. I find the strength I need in my times of weakness in Him. Thank you for sharing this story. God bless!
Love this, Nicki! I can just feel the goosebumps from the cold water. Sometimes we just need to “jump in”, so we can experience God’s plan for us.
What a blessing and inspiration this post and these pictures are to me today!! I have just prayed that God would give me the courage to jump in and do whatever He wants me to do. Thank you!
This is so awesome on so many levels. What a great dad. Your daughter is so blessed to have such encouraging parents.
I too struggle with jumping… thanks for the reminder.
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