Jumping Off of a Cliff

Have mercy on me, O God...

according to your steadfast Love,

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

                              ~Psalm 51:1, 12~

Two years ago, when talking with my youth pastor back home, he mentioned this phrase of "remembering the joy of our salvation"...He kept talking, but I wasn't really listening. I couldn't get over this phrase...

Return to me the joy of my salvation.

It's a simple phrase...and looking deeper into it, it takes away all ideas of entitlement. This constant remembering...a good friend of mine in Campus Ministry uses the word anamnesis, this bringing back to memory...remembering what once was and living it out today, bringing it back into existence. How powerful testimonies become when we look at their effects...we need to constantly, remind ourselves, remember, reenact.

The Lord, full of steadfast Love and abundant mercy, has the power to give a willing spirit. 

The Mount of Olives

This is a picture I took of the Mount of Olives while in Jerusalem...one side full of rocks, the other full of trees...one side a Jewish cemetery, the other a Christian cemetery...one side the image of death, the other an image of new life. Why do we so easily convince ourselves that there is life on both sides? Why do we not understand that refusing to give up our desires will lead to death...that we need to take the leap over to the other side...

But it's more than just a hop over a wall...

The past five days, I have felt like I was on the edge of a cliff...knowing that deep down, jumping was the right thing to do, knowing that giving my all, surrendering my life, giving up my earthly desires...that this would cause the most happiness in the long-run...why wouldn't you jump?

Because it's still a cliff.

It's not some simple task...even knowing that God has you covered. It's still jumping off of a cliff, and it's not an easy decision. I mean, it's your life. It's you. It's willingly giving up you.

And you can't jump.

It's impossible...

...well, impossible without God.

But God can give you that willing spirit. God can help you jump...

So I jumped...

and I'm not saying that I won't find myself on the edge of a cliff again, but next time, I'll remember jumping off of this cliff. 

And by remembering,

I can jump off of that one.