Risky Business

If one is forever cautious, can one remain a human being?  

                      ~Aleksander Solzhenitsyn

Last week Alexander (our 14 year old) took a tumble on a dirt bike resulting in a compound fracture of his lower left tibia. Consequence: unable to ride his BMX bike at the skate park in the next 6-8 weeks. Life is full of risks. As a parent I am tempted to say that the dirt bike incident should not have happened. What was he doing riding a motorcycle without our supervision? He is inexperienced and the bike was too powerful and... and so on and so on. But life is full of risks. And we can't be there all the time for him and he will need to grow his own wisdom to guide him in his decisions. A hip-to-heel cast is providing him with a bit of life experience and the concurrent wisdom.

One of Alexander's many responses to the accident is to say that he will never get on a dirt bike again. He is free to make that choice. It is not, however, my encouragement to him. Rather, I suggest that he learn from the experience and apply that learning to his next attempt, should he desire to give it another go. In the words of Benjamin Disraeli, "there is no education like adversity."

Life IS full of risks. It is risky to cross the street, to make investments, to give birth, to love, to leave, to stay. It is risky to try any new venture, it is risky to hold back. Maybe the risk is a bit of what makes life spicy and delicious. Somehow the risks of life stir our passions, they take us a bit closer to the edge and we experience life more intensely. And if not for the risk we take, the road ahead is simply not traveled. 

I wonder if risk-taking is perhaps quintessentially human? Soren Kierkegaard stated, "To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily.  To not dare is to lose oneself." Is it in our DNA to risk, to try new things, to hunger for the view on the far side of the horizon? Humanity, for all of its ills and shortcomings is still an amazing creature which dares to stretch and test its limits. And what wonders have been born from our stretching. Acts of kindness, advances in medicine and technology, incredible physically feats, business ventures... on and on the list goes, all because someone took a risk.

Perhaps it boils down to our heritage. We are created by God, in God's image, and God is a radical risk-taker. After all, God risked creating us and setting us loose in the universe. Then, God risked by incarnating in Jesus with the desire that we should awaken to Love's potential within us. Big risk. But when I hear the story of a 14-year-old confirmation student telling about volunteering to clean a neighbor's house or another who will  serve special needs kids at camp, or read to a paraplegic woman - then I realize that the risk of God to Love us is bearing fruit.

So my encouragement is to risk - take a crazy wild chance and see where it goes. There is something you've been thinking about doing for a long time, playing with the idea in your head, "should I our shouldn't I?" Well, unless you take the leap you will never know the gift of what could be.

You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. 

 ~Wayne Gretzky

There may be an act of kindness waiting for you to make it happen, or a relationship to begin, or one to end. A business venture has been calling your name, or a move to a new community, a service project, maybe a cleaning, a releasing, a forgiveness that has been tugging at your soul... It's true that, like Alexander, you might get on and discover that you are getting more than you bargained for; there are no guarantees. However,  in the words of John A. Shedd, "A ship in harbor is safe - but that is not what ships are for." (Salt from My Attic)
In the end, Alexander's risk is supported by family and friends. We help him up and down the stairs and he is encouraged by a staunch group of Junior High supporters. And that is life - risk, learn, lean on community, risk again.
I leave the last word to one of humanity's great risk-takers:

“Jesus looked hard at them and said, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”
(Matthew 19:26, MSG)

Remember, we're all in this together 

Pastor Bill

Slow down
for a
moment

just be
still

listen
deep inside

wisdom speaks
in the
quiet
places

Breathe deeply
out
and in

and be guided
by her
voice

Friendship

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.” (Mark Twain)

I met an elderly gentleman on a walk through the woods this week and my new friend taught me something about companionship. 

Max (my Jack Russell Terrier) and I were out for a stroll on the ski trails south of Camrose and met there a white-haired man walking an old collie-lab cross. Both had more grey than color in their coat and neither was prancing about with the kind of energy of the 5-year old dog scooting at my heels. Max ran ahead and the two dogs stood a half dozen metres apart assessing each other before tails began to wag and body-sniffing erupted.

The gentleman and I did not sniff each other. But we did smile and conversation ensued. His dog, he remarked, was 12 years old and as he said it his eyes lit up with remembered walks and the intimate companionship that can sometimes happen between humans and animals. He went on to tell me that the old dog was walking a bit stiffly these days. "Her hips are sore and  she sits more than she walks." I wondered if he was really referring to the dog as I watched him move a bit slowly as well.  The old hound ambled slowly over to give me a tentative sniff and then she gingerly worked her way back to her human. 

The old man smiled kindly to Max and me and the two of them walked with careful steps back to his truck. Max, with usual enthusiasm leaped up into the cab of our truck and, as I was turning around to drive away, I noticed my new friend doing something that is the cause of this writing. From the back of his pickup he had pulled a little set of wooden steps that were built to the exact height of the seat of his truck. His aging canine partner was gingerly working her way up the steps with his steady encouragement. It was clearly painful for her as she made several attempts. 


I waved as I went by and shared in this fellow's relief as his dog finally settled on the seat of the truck and the steps where reverently replaced in the truck box.

Such companionship - shared struggles, shared love, shared joy. Growing old together. It happens between us and our animal friends, and all the more so between us and our human friendships. I have seen this same sense of union shared between couples on the dance floor - moving with the grace and familiarity that is forged by decades of journeying together.

I have observed such companionship shared between two women over a cup of coffee at a coffee shop - an aroma of comfort in shared memories and easy friendship finding expression in laughter and tears. 

This kind of companionship, this deep sharing of struggles and joys - this gives us life and sustains us in the journey. It is an expression of the encompassing intimacy that is ours through God's Spirit wherein we can face our pain, our losses, and the uncertainties of life with courage and hope. My new white-haired friend and his gray-coated journey-mate are an echo of our creator's care for us. We are always loved, always held and in the quiet places of our heart where Spirit hovers, we are never alone.

May you know the gift of companionship today - and may it sustain and uplift you as you travel life's road.

I leave the last word to Jesus:

John 14:25-27 (The Message)

"I'm telling you these things while I'm still living with you. The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you. I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft.

Pastor Bill

Be still
for just a moment

remember
to breathe
deeply
out

and let breath
flow deeply in

and breathe
and breathe
and
know

that you are so
loved
and cherished

you
are held

Smile
and be
true
in this
day

[First published May 2, 2012]