Saturday, October 07, 2006



A Risk Of Faith

"The older I get, the less I want to take risks. I clutch the railing as I walk down a flight of stairs. I look both ways -twice- before driving through an intersection." Anne Graham Lotz

Yes, the older I get, the less I want to take risks. I can be gungho about loads of stuff. Ask me to go for a dive or a white water rafting trip. I'll gladly go (if time allows). I have no qualms when it comes to trying out new adrenaline packed stuff which allows me to step out of my comfort zone. Hell, I've even tried skydiving before. But these days, I'm more timid than ever.

Day-to-day living presents risks that I feel so afraid to take. Little things like taking normal tests, presentations and even sharing my faith to my friends. Even trying to parallel park is nerve wrecking! My faith of seventeen has faded away. And this song's lyrics completely nailed my feelings. Spot on.

Next Thing I Know
Written by Matthew West

I remember when I was thirteen
I saw a picture on my TV screen
The Reverend Billy Graham and the people sing "Just As I Am"
And I felt like You were talking to me
And the whole world seemed to fade away
Until I heard my mother say
"Son, are you ok?
Do you wanna pray?"
And that became the hour I first believed

Chorus:
And next thing you know
I'm high and flying, next thing you know
My heart is in Your hands,
next thing you know
There is no denying, next thing you know
I'm a brand new man

Well I wish I could say
I always stayed right there
And I did until my freshman year
But the world was pulling me along way from thirteen
And You were calling but I didn't hear
Still I knew there was something more
So one day my knees hit the dorm room floor
I said "If You're there and if You really care
Come and talk to me like I was thirteen"

Chorus:
I Got a picture in my head today
Of how Heaven might look someday
I see the people there so I pull up a chair
And their stories they blew me away
'Cause I can see it on every face
Their evidence of grace
And as I listen it occurs to me
Everybody's got their own thirteen

So what's your story about His glory?
You gotta find your place in the history of grace

---------------------------------------

This song spoke to me (in a figuratively sense of course). I remembered I was seventeen when I first attended church regularly. Life was different then. Simple faith existed and there were none of the complexities that are oh so common now. Fear and worry are 2 words not easily found in my life's dictionary back then. Now, being 21 is a whole different experience and story altogether. We just flow with the tide, not knowing where it'll lead us to. The world seems to have taken hold of me. And I refuse to let it do that.

So its my prayer that when week 13 and 14 (peak season of presentations) rear their ugly heads,
I'll remember what God said in His Word.

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline"
2 Timothy 1:7

Begone pre-presentation and exam jitters! Courage to face what's coming your way, girl!

Posted by Jo at 4:51 pm