Taking the Plunge
I recently spent about a week in the South Island of New Zealand. The epic display of natural beauty left me breathless throughout our roadtrip from Nelson to Queenstown then back to Nelson. I remember seeing Lake Pukaki for the first time and it was so unreal! It literally looked like someone had Photoshopped and enhanced the place.
There were many other “wow moments” throughout the trip but one stood out for me: the bridge jump at the Blue Pools. I had packed some swimwear for that day just in case I felt like swimming but jumping off the bridge was definitely not on the agenda. The sun was not out so it was on the chillier side of the scale. Due to these lighting conditions the “Blue Pools” appeared greenish – still super gorgeous. I had a quick feel of the water with my feet and it was freezing cold so, in my mind, swimming was highly unlikely. My good friend went ahead and jumped without much drama. Then I saw some kids jumping as well. It looked so fun and the thought that I might not be back at this beautiful place for a while helped me make the decision to give it a go.
I quickly changed into my board shorts for the jump. I walked to the centre of the bridge barefoot and climbed over the rail onto a tiny ledge. I held onto a thick cable on the bridge and had a moment of why-did-I-even-think-this-was-
When I got back to Melbourne, I finally had the chance to check my email. One of them was from a new friend I made when we went to a ShareHim mission trip in Mexico a couple of years back. She was appealing for someone to visit her son, who moved to the west side of Melbourne some time ago. I replied and asked her if she had any responses yet and that I live in Melbourne’s west. She wrote a heartfelt email saying how glad she was that I was the only one to respond so far. She poured her heart out on how she has been praying for her son and the family he is living with to find a church. She pleaded that I visit them with either church leaders or members. I told her I would pray about it and visit them soon. From my own experience, a praying mom is so precious. I would be in a much darker place if it weren’t for my own mom praying for me when I was living a totally different lifestyle.
I prayed about it and also had the chance to share it with Werribee youth when I attended their Friday night meeting. It was very encouraging that I was approached by a couple of young people who were keen to do the house visit with me. One was brother Alex who had moved to the west side of Melbourne from NSW recently. He attended ARISE and wanted to get involved in any kind of ministry God has in the area while he works full time. We decided to pray about it for a week and visit the house on a Sabbath evening.
This past Sabbath, we prayed together then made our way to the house. As we parked in front of the house, I felt a very similar nervousness I experienced when I was standing on the tiny ledge at the Blue Pools bridge. Knocking on the door of total strangers was like taking that plunge; my stomach sank. It all happened very quickly. We were told that the young man was not home and was out with friends. The door then shut quite quickly so it almost felt like a futile effort. It may have felt quite disappointing but I believe God still has big plans to reach this family. Please keep them in prayer.
God might not always ask us to take the plunge. He may call us to serve faithfully in areas where we can use the talents He gave us. But, throughout my spiritual journey, when we are given the chance to take a plunge, the experience is always worth it! Jesus took the most epic and daunting plunge ever when He voluntarily jumped from heaven to this sin-filled world. And He definitely thinks it is fully worth it. ” In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”” (Luke 15:10 NLT)
