My two teens and their friends have been skating more recently and took right to the ice. My 10 year old has never been on the ice before and clung to the railing. I would skate by her side some, trying to coax her away from the railing, telling her she wasn't going to get anywhere or have any fun if she stayed where she was. She persisted in going slowly around the rink, hugging the railing for dear life.
There was a woman skating on the rink who appeared to perhaps at one time been a competitive skater. She skated in the middle practicing turns and twirls, and then would skate around the rink a bit and do camels or skate backwards. At one point, when I was resting on a bench, I looked out on the ice to see her talking to Eemy. It wasn't long after that I saw my daughter venturing slightly away from the railing and skating on her own. In no time my dear little daughter was having a great time skating around the rink. She still basically stayed within a yard of the railing but she wasn't holding tightly to it.
I went over to skate with her and before I could ask she excitedly told me what the woman had told her. "Can I give you some pointers?" The woman had asked, "Don't look at your feet and lean forward just slightly and you'll keep your balance better."
It wasn't long after that that I saw Eemy skating with another little girl. Soon she was breezing around with a smile on her face having a great time. Evidently, she had fallen on the ice and this little girl had skated up to her to help her up, and began encouraging her and skating with her and giving Eemy some more pointers. The other little girl had been skating since she was five. They skated the rest of the session together.
As I skated around the rink myself I began to think about Eemy's journey on the ice. Our Christian walk can be much like her lessons learned that afternoon. If as Christians, we live in fear and cling to the rail, so to speak, we aren't going to get far for God. We will be so concerned with falling, or failing, that we will be busy gripping the safety rail and looking at our feet resulting in a tedious and hard life.
But when we stop looking at our feet and lean even slightly forward towards God we will begin to get somewhere. When we look towards God, look forward, we can move towards his goal. We might fall, but he'll help us up again, often sending a helper or encourager to our side. Sometimes God will call one to a solitary place with him, but more often God wants us to have fellowship and to encourage one another. Skating through life with a companion or companions, leaning in towards God and looking forward can result in a life of joy and accomplishment (for God).
As I was skating on my own, and thinking about the spiritual applications of Eemy's experience, I began to notice that there were many ruts in the ice. If I wasn't paying attention, my skates would fit into a rut and I would get off balance or sent in a direction I wasn't intending to go because my skates were comfortable in that grove. If I wasn't careful I was going to be on the ground. I had to pay attention to the feel of the ice and if I felt myself in a rut, quickly work myself out of it so that I could glide on the ice more easily and safely. It occurred to me that this was also like the Christian walk. If we are not careful we can end up in a rut. Ruts can keep us from going where we want to go. Ruts can cause us to stumble in our Christian walk and cause us to be less effective. God can be calling us in one direction, but a rut will have us continuing in its direction which is often a dead end.
When our skating session was over, Eemy wasn't ready to stop. She was having such a wonderful time she wanted to keep skating. What a difference between the time she began the session and when it was time to go. She went from a fearful little girl hugging the railing and stumbling over her feet to a confident skater gliding on the ice with a friend. She can't wait till I take her skating again.
Which skater would you rather be? Which type of Christian should we be? Shall we cling to what appears safe and be busy looking at what can go wrong (looking at our feet) or shall we look up, and lean in towards God and go forward with confidence? Shall we fear falling and stay safe or shall we trust God to help us up even if we fall? If we find ourselves in a rut will we allow it to dictate our direction or will we quickly work ourselves out of that rut?
I will never be a skater like the woman who helped my daughter, flowing freely on the ice gracefully and skillfully. I am sure she has done her share of falling, but she had to keep getting up and going forward to get where she is as a skater today. I would like to have a Christian walk that is like her skating. A walk that is sure and confident. A walk that can encourage others and be a blessing. A walk that avoids ruts and pitfalls. A walk that is so beautiful that it gives God glory in its beauty.
