In my younger teen and tween years, my dad took up skydiving as a hobby. The weekends that we went to Sky Sports were good weekends, with my soon to be step siblings. There was lots of room to run. We watched skydivers prepare parachutes for jumping, played foosball, went into the old airplane observation tower, and other explorations. You had to be 18 to jump or 16 with a parents written permission, so for my 18th birthday, I finally got to jump! While I was adventure loving and chance taking (yes…you can be an introvert and enjoy a good adventure), when it came time to jump, I locked up. I did it, but I didn’t do it the way I was supposed to.
In the morning, I had taken the required class. Their were various tips and instructions given of course, but there was one that stuck out to me. We were told that when you are near power lines or another area that poses a danger, keep your eyes focused on where you want to go. Your body has a tendency to automatically shift in the direction that your eyes are set.
We were told that the winds would be about 70mph as we exited the small plane. I was not mentally prepared for just how windy that is. Then, when we were nearing the place to exit, I wondered what I had been thinking to voluntarily jump several thousand feet with nothing between me and the ground besides a backpack full of cloth. But, there I was. I had gotten that far. I knew that I could not live with myself or others, if I did not go through with it. I ended up getting out of the plane late, letting go late, my positioning was off, and then getting my left arm tangled in the ropes of the chute when it opened. Once my arm was untangled, there was a brief moment of awe at the scenery. Then I noticed where I was headed. Below me was an old rusty pipe yard on one side of the road, on the other side was power lines. In the middle was a hi-way. I did not see a good place to land. I was completely off course. The safest place that I could see was the ditch on the side of the road, so that’s where I focused my eyes. It was a small area, but the other options were not good. I ended up landing in the middle of 56 hi-way on Father’s day. Fortunately, I landed correctly and only skinned up my legs a bit. A friend of my dad had broken her leg on a poor land. Upon landing, I stopped traffic in both directions.
That lesson has come back to me many times recently, with personal life battles. In perilous times, it is important to keep our eyes on Jesus.
Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
I am thankful for that experience, as well as many others in my life that did not turn out as I had planned. God is faithful. Even when we are faithless, He is still faithful. He has watched over my life, amidst many struggles, hurts, and confusion. He has brought me through much and continues to do so. I was not yet serving him at the time of that jump, but He was there. Be encouraged. Look up. You will follow where your eyes are fixed.
Melicia Evans 