Sticking the landing

Last weekend at a friend's house, a group of us were having a wonderful time sharing stories from our childhood. Through the laughter, I heard a name from the past that I am greatly familiar with. Could it be true? Had someone actually just mentioned my childhood hero? Yes! You know who I'm talking about (if not there's always google =]). That great 70's legend...Evil Kenevil!

All I really knew about Evil Kenevil was that he would attempt these crazy motorcycle jumps. Sometimes crashing, sometimes sticking the landing. And that he seemed to do this with absolutely no fear.

Emulating my hero, I played with no fear. I even earned the nickname, Karen Kenevil.
That title was given to me when I was 9, after I jumping a picnic table with my bicycle.
I cleared the table lengthwise and landed upright on both wheels in the sandbox...handlebar going up under my ribcage. Not sure if that counts as sticking the landing, but I sure did earn the respect of my friends.

A landing I did not stick was on my mini bike. My brother and I would ride at this clearing near our house. It was a big circle with a path through the center and one that led to a 6 foot drop off. Not finding enough thrill in going around the circle, I made my own route. A 405 degree loop, right turn down the drop off, back up around the side to the bottom of the circle. I felt like one of the teens that would stop by on their big dirt bikes that they would ride all over the adjoining property. On one pass, that my dad actually got on film, I didn't take my finger off the throttle to go down the drop off. Maybe I forgot, Maybe I was living up to my nickname. Whichever it was, I took that drop off at full throttle catching 6 feet of air, landing on my belly. I was sprawled out at the bottom. My bike on it's side sputtering, more wounded than I was.

My most recent moment of catching air was when I lost control of my van on ice. Ramped up a tree doing a 180 in the air before landing. I don't think losing consciousness from a blow to the head qualifies this as a stuck landing either. However, I did go through it with no fear. Not the, reckless invincibility of a 9 year old lack of fear. It was the lack of fear that comes with peace, knowing that God is with you no matter where you are and what's happening.

There is a huge difference between having no fear because you don't think you'll ever die and having no fear because you know where you're going when you do.

A quick Bible search of the phrase "Do not be afraid" brings up 70 references. My favorite one is in John 14, where Jesus spells it all out. It takes place during the Last Supper, the Passover meal. He tells them that He is the Way, promises the Holy Spirit, and gives them His peace. "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid". The men Jesus is speaking to are about to have their world shaken and He is preparing them for it.

God in all His Majesty, who by all rights is too Great to be accessible, gives us access to Him through His Son Jesus, Yeshua; by His Holy Spirit. We know this promise is for us as well. In John 17 after Jesus prays for His disciples, He prays for all that will believe in Him through their message.

This is where "sticking the landing" becomes a moot point. It's not about landing on your feet in the perfect pose or falling down, or even if you're injured or not. It's about faith, the journey you choose to be on. You either believe that Jesus is who He said He is and receive the greatest gift you could imagine, or you don't. And if you believe, what are you doing with gift He has given you?
Are you using it?
Or are you afraid to unwrap it?