Stepping off the Cliff at 51

As I being writing this post, it is just after noon on August 31st. On the other side of the world, in Bali, it is just after midnight on September 1st. Several of my night-owl friends have been the first to send birthday greetings.

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I just looked back at the post I wrote a year ago, Over-the-Hill is Exciting. It was interesting, to me anyway, to reflect back on the changes the previous decade had brought to my life. I compared the journey ahead into my next decade to an exciting rollercoaster ride.


A year later, on the day before my 51st birthday, I find myself in the position of not having a particular job or ministry to do. For my entire adult life, I have always had an idea of what is coming next. 

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Yes, there have been changes. I could compare those seasons of change to Tarzan swinging through the jungle on vines. I had to let go of one vine in order to grasp the next one. This time, though, I've let go of one vine...and I don't yet see the next one that I am supposed to grab. 
  

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Perhaps a better analogy might be that scene from one of the Indiana Jones movies where Indy encounters a stunningly deep chasm. He has to get to the other side, and there appears to be no way across. No way at all. 

He has a clue. He must step forward into the chasm, and put his whole weight into the step. When he does, a well-camouflaged bridge is there waiting for him. 

He would never have seen that bridge unless he took that first step.

Well, I've taken the step, and I don't deny it is a bit scary. Thankfully, I do have the support of family here, so it isn't as scary as it could be. The bridge hasn't appeared yet, but I am sure it will.

Whether I liken this part of my journey to riding a roller coaster, swinging through the jungle, or stepping off a cliff, I know God is in charge, and I can trust Him. 

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• He designed the rollercoaster.
• He strung the vines.
• He built the bridge.

 I may not know how everything will work out, and that's OK. My part is to keep stepping forward in faith, trusting Him to lead me in the way I should go. His ways are higher than mine.

As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:9