the NOT-SO cutting edge?

Last weekend I attended College For a Weekend at Liberty University. During this trip i was able to walk in on Principles Of Youth Ministry 101, attend a Skillet/TobyMac Concert, and also Ice Skate.

I must be completely honest with you, I have probably Ice Skated for a total of 2 hours in my life, none of which were on my feet. I cannot skate to save my life. We went to the Ice Center at LU where they were hosting a "Free Skate Night", and as all my friends put their skates on i chose to sit this out. My friend Jordan came up to me and asked me why i did not try it. I told him that i did not like to do things that I did not succeed in. In reality, who likes to do things that they absolutly can not do? Not me!

As i sat there, my friend Jordan simply told me that i should not hold myself back from doing something just because i couldnt do it. I was very sure that i was not going to skate but for some reason i decided to try it. I got on the ice and was completely lost. My friend Andrew told me that it was like kicking left and right and rotating all the weight on one foot at a time. So i Did! and i began to skate, then i lost my balance a little. I did not fall once that night but something great happened. I learned something that night.

I looked around and i saw some people speed-skating, i saw a girl figure skating, and in one corner i saw this really big guy walking with skates and holding on to the rail to keep his balance. I began to notice that everyone in the rink was either skating amazingly or trying to skate.I also notice that the people that couldnt skate, like me, attempted to skate in different ways. I saw some people fall, i saw some people walk on ice, and some people simply stand on a corner trying to convince themselves to try it.

I feel that in THIS same way, christians battle with fear. I feel that we all wanna skate, but NOT all of us are in the rink. I feel that everyone also has their own method of learning. A very tall guy was just skating, little by little, back and forth on one side of the rink, this was his method. my method was simply left-and-righting all around the rink.

I have a very important question. What is your method? We say we want to get somewhere with God but dont try long enough to get there. Its not about trying hard enough, its about trying long enough. God doesnt see how hard you try, he sees how long you try. The bible says that he who falls seven times should rise eight times. God doesnt want you to try to not fall, he wants you to get up when you do fall.

I sat out for the first 15 minutes of "Free Skate Night", but then decided to try it. Are you trying God? or are you sitting out? Im not talking about going to church and praying before you go to sleep and before you eat a meal. Im talking about trying God. Im talking about letting Him take your burdens, your addictions, your past. Get on the Rink with Christ, but make sure to let Him help you. Don't sit out! Don't quit if you fall! Get back up!

I wanna finish with saying this...i tried to skate. I DID NOT perfect the art of skating. However, i attempted it. God sees you trying, so keep trying. Eventually you will realize that you trying will become you doing.