NAKED TOWER JUMP

A HERO!

From 24 miles far above the earth, Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner anxiously awaited his moment of greatness. With one jubilant jump he was about to set the world record for the highest dive from space. At these lofty heights he was the first person to break the sound barrier at a supersonic speed of 833 mph.  Right before his brave bolt into the history books, the daredevil stood tall atop his helium filled balloon and stated, “I know the whole world is watching now, and I wish the world could see what I see.”

Have you ever jumped from so high up that you didn’t know when you would hit the ground? For me, one particular brainless stunt comes to mind.  In the summer of 1993 I was chosen to work at a sports camp for kids in the Ozark mountains. I had never experienced what the great outdoors was all about so I was looking forward to the trip. The entire week was an amazing time of peace and personal growth in my spiritual life. It started with a time of crazy fun with the kids and ended with one simple task of crazy faith. I had to JUMP.

There was an unspoken tradition that on the last morning of camp the first time counselors had to jump into the freezing river that stood on the outskirts of camp. We had to do this with no questions asked. I thought to myself, "that sounds easy enough." In the early dark hours of the last morning there was a loud knock at the door. Without warning I was quietly taken away with the other counselors and we started the brisk walk down the rocky hill towards the river. As I looked across the river,I felt the water moving with a cold and eerie calm. I had no clue what was going to happen next. As we stood by the river bank, one of the guys pointed up to a tall tower that sat just over the water. Surely we would not be expected to jump down from a tower that was nearly 75 feet above the water? We were told to take off all of our clothes and get a jumping partner. In the pitch black morning air, we stripped off our clothes and chose our jumping partner. I was about to get a lesson on what it truly meant to be one with nature. I had to JUMP. 

To this day I don't remember who my jumping partner was. The one thing I do remember about the jump is the slow and stressful CLIMB to the very top of the tower. When I finally reached the top of the tower I looked down into the endless dark and asked myself one question. Where was the water? Down we went, fearfully falling, headed on a collision course with the stillness that awaited below. During the descent, my legs floundered like two flimsy boat paddles with no sense of direction. 

I can't say that I saw some great vision as I stood with my toes dangling over the edge of the tower.  With the human eye the only thing I could see was trouble, but the one thing I had to rely on was blind faith that all of my body parts would be okay after impact. My partner and I landed in the water with a splendid splat and quickly swam back to the safety of dry land. I talked with someone just the other day who said she remembers jumping off the top of her barn as a child. I'm sure the anticipation of hitting the ground was almost more than she could bare. I knew what she meant. 

FAITH LIKE A CHILD

There is always a certain child-like innocence that is needed when we are faced with our time to climb to new heights. I miss that young child who would always jump first and ask questions later. When we have to jump into life it's only natural to look for that safe,soft landing spot. Is there someone out there that you would love to ask out on a date? JUMP!  What about that new business you've been wanting to start? JUMP! Don't worry about what you can't see or what you don't have. The world is watching and ready to hear your stories of faith and wonder. Carry no ring, no robe and no sandals. Jesus will be your jumping partner as you brace yourself to experience the view of a lifetime on your NAKED TOWER JUMP.


note: Please feel free to leave a comment and tell me about your big jump.