I got the most amazing email the other day. It was one of those typical forwards but the title caught my attention. "I wouldn't go swimming there! Would you?" I expected to see sharks or some other dangerous creature swimming around with less than logical people. However the pictures were breath taking. They were of these massive falls, much like Niagara, that are part of Lake Victoria, which I believe is in Africa, but I would have to check my geography. Anyhow, the view was spectacular, but the main point of the email was this, there are shallow pools of water that go right up to the edge. The very edge of the falls. There are rock shelves that hang out over the drop of hundreds of feet of water to the lake below. But in these shallow pools are people. Yes, people. Moms and dads holding their tiny babies. Children splashing and swimming around. One man stood precariously on the rock shelf that jutted out over the falls, leaning forward to take a picture of what laid below. The water was cool, calm, clear, and the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. The spray of the falls just behind the pool gave way to a light rainbow in the mist of water. It was a scene I won't soon forget....thus this blog.
I have often gone back to the images of the falls. Dangerous and powerful, churning and pounding beneath the calm scene above. Did those people know what they were doing? Did they know how close to death they stood? Didn't they see what I saw....beauty, power, and danger? How did they stand or swim so close to the edge of life and not fear the depths below?
I have rolled the thoughts of this scene over and over in my mind. Then the other day, I sat listening to a discussion of how to deal with a church member that had stepped too close to the edge of adultery. As we discussed how to restore gently this person to God, another dear person explained how in her life it had almost happened to her. She recounted without details how one day she found herself near the edge, ready to either step off the ledge or to dive back in to the calmness of the pool. It had been too close to the edge for her. She had had to make a decision....a decision to LIVE according to God's law or to step off the ledge and fall for the lies of the evil one.
I know this place. I've seen it several times. That edge of right or wrong, life or death, hanging on or giving up. How I thank God I have been pulled back, and rescued from my own curiosity and pride when the beauty of the falls have captured my imagination and made me feel invincible to the dangers below.
Those ledges can be anything in our lives that we are tempted by. Is it that drink you want to take, but you know will lead to an uncontrollable need for another? Or it could be that extra pill you take to help you sleep, when you don't want to face the trials of the day. Maybe it is the extra helping of those awesome potatoes that you know will lead to overeating again. Or maybe that relationship that you know you are too dependent on. The one that if you allowed yourself to give in or step a bit forward, you would be lost in it forever. It could be spending more than you make, living above your means. Whatever the addiction, whatever the temptation, is it really worth your life? Standing on the edge is a risky place. One step in either direction can change your life forever. If you are walking on the edge, not choosing the danger of the fall or the safety of the pool, but just walking along the rocky edge, how long do you think you can live? The edge is slippery. The winds are strong, and your footing is not firm. How long before you fall because the beauty and the draw of power take you over?
I don't know if you get this image like I do. So many of us are deceived in to believing we can manage standing so close to the edge. We can swim and play and relax and do like everyone else without loosing our lives. We can enjoy the pool and look over the edge and not be affected by what lies below. The truth is, we can't be safe that close to danger. Danger is lurking and the evil one is just waiting to push you over. As with the man standing out, far out, on the ledge just to get a better look of what was below, all it would have taken for his life to be over is one strong rush of water over the ledge, or one strong gust of wind, just one mis-step and life would be over as he knew it. Are you willing to risk it all for just an ounce of power or a taste of beauty, to swim in the pool that hides the danger just below? I'm not.
Flee from evil, cling to what is right! I stood on this ledge many years ago. A time when I had a choice to make. Step forward and leap off into a different life other than the one that included my husband and children, or turn back, walk, no run, the other direction and embrace the life I had. I don't think we get to the edge of such places quickly. Those small steps in the wrong direction that seem harmless and even beautiful, eventually come to a place of no return. It is a daily walk....a daily struggle to stay on the path that leads to life and not destruction.
If you are near the edge, step back and look around at where you are. Don't be deceived. It is not too late until you decide to take that final step.......
I have often gone back to the images of the falls. Dangerous and powerful, churning and pounding beneath the calm scene above. Did those people know what they were doing? Did they know how close to death they stood? Didn't they see what I saw....beauty, power, and danger? How did they stand or swim so close to the edge of life and not fear the depths below?
I have rolled the thoughts of this scene over and over in my mind. Then the other day, I sat listening to a discussion of how to deal with a church member that had stepped too close to the edge of adultery. As we discussed how to restore gently this person to God, another dear person explained how in her life it had almost happened to her. She recounted without details how one day she found herself near the edge, ready to either step off the ledge or to dive back in to the calmness of the pool. It had been too close to the edge for her. She had had to make a decision....a decision to LIVE according to God's law or to step off the ledge and fall for the lies of the evil one.
I know this place. I've seen it several times. That edge of right or wrong, life or death, hanging on or giving up. How I thank God I have been pulled back, and rescued from my own curiosity and pride when the beauty of the falls have captured my imagination and made me feel invincible to the dangers below.
Those ledges can be anything in our lives that we are tempted by. Is it that drink you want to take, but you know will lead to an uncontrollable need for another? Or it could be that extra pill you take to help you sleep, when you don't want to face the trials of the day. Maybe it is the extra helping of those awesome potatoes that you know will lead to overeating again. Or maybe that relationship that you know you are too dependent on. The one that if you allowed yourself to give in or step a bit forward, you would be lost in it forever. It could be spending more than you make, living above your means. Whatever the addiction, whatever the temptation, is it really worth your life? Standing on the edge is a risky place. One step in either direction can change your life forever. If you are walking on the edge, not choosing the danger of the fall or the safety of the pool, but just walking along the rocky edge, how long do you think you can live? The edge is slippery. The winds are strong, and your footing is not firm. How long before you fall because the beauty and the draw of power take you over?
I don't know if you get this image like I do. So many of us are deceived in to believing we can manage standing so close to the edge. We can swim and play and relax and do like everyone else without loosing our lives. We can enjoy the pool and look over the edge and not be affected by what lies below. The truth is, we can't be safe that close to danger. Danger is lurking and the evil one is just waiting to push you over. As with the man standing out, far out, on the ledge just to get a better look of what was below, all it would have taken for his life to be over is one strong rush of water over the ledge, or one strong gust of wind, just one mis-step and life would be over as he knew it. Are you willing to risk it all for just an ounce of power or a taste of beauty, to swim in the pool that hides the danger just below? I'm not.
Flee from evil, cling to what is right! I stood on this ledge many years ago. A time when I had a choice to make. Step forward and leap off into a different life other than the one that included my husband and children, or turn back, walk, no run, the other direction and embrace the life I had. I don't think we get to the edge of such places quickly. Those small steps in the wrong direction that seem harmless and even beautiful, eventually come to a place of no return. It is a daily walk....a daily struggle to stay on the path that leads to life and not destruction.
If you are near the edge, step back and look around at where you are. Don't be deceived. It is not too late until you decide to take that final step.......
6 comments:
Denise,
So we did grow up in the same house didn't we? This is incredibly true and so beautifully said without all the judgement. This had to have been inspired by God cause there are so many of us that fall into these scenarios. Thanks so much for being brave enough to say what needs to be heard. And I hear by give you permission to wear jeans and flip flops to church:)
Kerrie
Thanks Kerrie....I appreciate your words and your permission! LOL! I could never sit in judgment of others who make the mistake of taking the wrong step, it is too easy to find yourself in a situation you never saw coming.....never saw the edge. As for being brave....not me....just trusting this was something God needed me to say. It had been on my heart for too many days and had to be put out there. Thanks again....df
If you want to see the falls I was describing in this post, check out Charles North's blog linked on mine. He is from South Africa and happened to post pictures of Lake Victoria and her Falls. You won't get to see the pools with people in them, but you can see how close Charles walks to the edge!
Denise,
I know that was too cool that he posted those photos after what you wrote. I did a google and found several videos from u tube with people swimming in the pools!
Kerrie
Addictions, walking too close, allowing yourself thinking one is stronger than the addiction, trying to control it yourself...all...I know too well. I had to let God take most of mine, and food is one I still battle. I push it to the edge, like the waterfall...and know it. I try daily, each day a new day. Your writings are reflective and truly inspirational.
Thanks so much for allowing me to catch a glimpse of your insight. I have walked way too close to the edge many times in my life and you do find yourself there before you even realize it. The evil one lurks in the background just waiting for that small opening to push you over. I am so thankful that God, with all is mercy and grace, pulled me away from the edge and gave me a safe place to stand. Thank you for sharing what God puts on your heart. You have an amazing gift.
love you, Connie
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