Diving In!

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places… You have made known to me the path of life; You fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (Ps. 16:6a, 11 — NIV). 

I’m a “cusp-dweller” – living so often on the periphery of possibility. Perhaps I’m afraid. Honestly, maybe I’m lazy.

 Take, for example, my camera. According to the 100+ page manual, it does a thousand things; yet I’m content to point and shoot the sunrise on the automatic setting.

What about my “GE Profile Advantium” microwave, which does so much more than microwave? It, too, came with a hardy owner’s manual. Being the owner, I could indeed learn so much by reading it, but since it scares me, I’m content to… microwave.

This truth hit me recently as I was exercising on our elliptical trainer –which we’ve had for eight years, and I’ve used about that many times. Pressing the “Quick Start” button, I began my workout and looked straight ahead, ignoring all the other buttons – incriminating reminders that, by simply inputting some basic information, the machine was capable of becoming my own personal trainer. (It explains how in the “You-Know-What.”) Instead, I completed my 20 minutes and then dismissed the flashing “Pedal Faster” cue on the functions panel as I stepped off. (Thankfully, it didn’t include the word “Idiot” which may have tipped me over the edge… though, honestly, may have been a good thing!)

Why? Why am I content to live on the fringe? Is it fear that keeps me from going deeper – like the time when, as a child, I climbed the ladder to the high dive, only to look down and experience gripping anxiety? The height was too much… the depth of the water, too deep. I climbed down.

In Mark 5, I read about a woman who’d experienced many years of uncontrollable bleeding but chose to remain on the fringe no longer. Diving into a frenzied crowd, she touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. She knew that to remain a “cusp-dweller,” she’d never experience healing, and she was propelled beyond reason – doing what her heart compelled her to do. She was healed.  

I want to be like this. I, too, want to dive at Jesus’ feet. I want to rise above the expectations of this world, driven not by reason but by my heart – taking the plunge, even if, in the process, I’m called “Freak,” “Crazy,” or… yes, “Idiot.”

 For now, I’m not going to worry too much about that stack of owner’s manuals but instead, commit myself to diving deeper by reading the most important “Guidebook.” There, I’ll find healing.  And who knows? I just might find the encouragement I need to learn how to bake, using my microwave oven!

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105 — NIV).