June 2, 2021 If the weather and a few other circumstances cooperate, I’ll be joining a friend Sunday to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I’ve already taken that leap before, but it’ll be my friend’s first time skydiving. We’re jumping to celebrate an accomplishment. As my friend and I discussed the logistics behind this adventure, I asked him if he was nervous. “Not yet,” he said. “I probably will be right before we get in the plane.” I immediately reminded him that we’ll each have a well-experienced instructor attached to our backs, and I reminded him that there are a handful of safety instruments and protocols intended to ensure we land safely on the ground. Apparently, I’m willing to put an awful lot of trust in another human – a stranger – and a bunch of instruments and metal clips. We do that all the time, don’t we? We put our trust in objects or other people pretty easily. I trust that my chair isn’t going to break and drop me on the ground. I trust my vehicle isn’t going to fall apart while I’m going down the highway at 65 miles per hour (probably faster, actually). I trust that my primary care provider has my best interest at heart and has the medical knowledge needed to help me be healthy and well. I trust that the flagger at the road work site is motioning me through only when it’s actually safe. Yet I have a difficult time putting my trust fully in the Lord. I can think of countless times when I’ve felt some urging or calling from the Lord, but I’ve rejected it thinking “I don’t have time,” or “I’m not capable of that.” Trusting the Lord means knowing He’ll give you the time and the resources you need if its His will. Trusting the Lord means saying “yes” those calls and urgings and cooperating with Him. It seemed appropriate that I was reflecting on this idea of trusting and taking leaps on the same weekend that I had the opportunity to attend the ordination Mass for Father Matthew Conger, Father John Ojuok and Father Fernando Solomon Jr. These three men took a giant leap of faith in answering God’s call, and they trust God will provide all that they need in their ministries and lives moving forward. Please join me in praying for them as they live their vocations and praying that we all can turn our trust and wills over to the Lord. |
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