Take the Leap of Faith

Hanging with my sweet grandson always leads to talking about animals -- after all, he has 32 animals of his own. Seems we integrate some kind of animal story into just about every conversation. After all, I've dubbed him the "animal whisperer" because all of those critters seem to calm in his presence.

I heard a very interesting message about the Impala, a medium-sized African antelope. The only "Impala" I ever knew about was the Chevrolet Impala -- particularly because it was my husband's first car. Little did I realize that the name "Impala" was selected for the Chevy because of the characteristics of the animal, the Impala. The Impala's most characteristic movement is its unique leap. In the wild, they can run at very high speeds and jump to heights of 10 feet over bushes and even other Impala, and they can cover distances of up to 33 feet in one leaping bound. That's quite amazing that their inbred abilities give them that extra "protection" against being prey for more dominant animals.

But, here's the most interesting fact about the Impala. If they are held captive in zoos by a mere 36-inch wall, they will not act on their natural instincts. That's because they simply can't see what's on the other side of that little wall. What stands between them and freedom is taking a leap of faith.

Friday night we watched a "Running Wild With Bear Grylls" TV episode with Deion Sanders as his guest celebrity to take to a challenging adventure that included jumping a canyon and eating snake. As fearless as Deion might have seemed as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys, we witnessed him being paralyzed with fear to have to jump a canyon. No positive words that Bear spoke to him had enough motivation to give him the courage to jump. But when Deion started praying HARD out loud and in tongues, within a few moments, he had gained the courage to take that "leap of faith"....and he did so successfully.

What a testament to God's stamp of approval with this post today when I looked up at my friends' glass case and I saw an Impala inside (pictured here) -- never saw it before, but on this day, I knew God was giving me a high-five on this message for us!

Perhaps we are like the Impala -- if we can see where we're headed, if we know what our destination is, if we know the end result -- we'll give it all we've got. But what if the way isn't clear? What if there's a killer-gap between our start to finish? What if we don't know what tomorrow holds? What if we don't have all the answers? But still, what if we take a LEAP OF FAITH even though we don't know what is on the other side? It's about TRUSTING in He Who already knows and has the plans for our tomorrows. We simply TRUST. Proverbs 3:5,6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths" -- and, I might add.....even give you extra turbo-charged energy and power to "run through a troop and LEAP OVER THE WALL!" Psalm 18:29.

Maybe we should sing along with Diana Ross....'There ain't no mountain (or walls) high enough to keep me from..... leaping over them!"