Stepping Out

I was in Chicago yesterday.  We went to the Willis Tower to the Skydeck.  Oh my.  For those of you not from Chicago, the skydeck looks out over the city and has some really awesome plastic/glass enclosures that you can stand on and look under you and the buildings below.  You feel like you are flying!  I was a ninny, I was scared.  It’s freaky people!  I mean, you really feel like you are going to fall!

These pictures are of me trying to do a perfect “tree pose” to post on the blog.  We never got the shot.  My son had the camera and took these pictures that I’ve posted.  He also shot a little video which is hilarious and I tried to post but couldn’t figure out how.  So I’m sorry, I recorded the audio before I wrote anything or tried the video so it refers you to the video and that’s not on here.  Sorry!  From these pictures, you can imagine what the video is like.

Here’s the story on MP3 here-just click link:  blog post step out

(I hope you had a chance to listen to the audio story.   Just in case, I wrote it down too.   If the audio doesn’t work – I’m so sorry!  It’s recorded as an MP3 but I think if you can play it just depends on what software you have on your computer. Hope it works! )

This is the story of what I learned when I took my son and his friends to the Willis Tower Sky Deck.  I learned lots of other things too,  like…Chicago hot dogs sound like a good idea but they have a lot of icky stuff on them.  If you jump in the elevator, it doesn’t do anything but old guys will laugh and say they used to do that too.  I love cheese and caramel popcorn mixed from Nuts on Clark and taking the train is really fun especially if you are a 10 year old boy and you sit “up top”.

It was a lovely, clear sky day as I hovered over the city, terrified to stick my foot out on the platform.  Picture me hesitating, people watching, I’m trying to hurry and do a perfect “tree pose” for a picture to share with all of you on the blog.  That didn’t happen.  But something else did that I want to share.  Here’s what I think God was illustrating for me that day.

God is calling all of us to step outside of our comfort zone.

He’s calling each and every one of us to take that step we think we cannot take.

He’s even telling us we do not need to look down, we just need to step.

He’s even telling us people may be watching, we just need to step.

People may be laughing, we just need to step.

Our expectations of what will happen probably won’t come true so we need to let go of our attachment to outcome.

I wanted to do a perfect tree pose but I kept falling out of it.

I wanted my son to take a picture but he took a video instead.

I wanted this perfect image of me, smiling, balanced, centered, and brave.

I wanted you to see the fake me.

The perfect me.

The me that can do “tree” easily.

The me that has no fear.

The me whose son takes a perfect picture.

But instead you got the real me and I got to see the real me too.

And the beautiful ending to this vignette is:  I threw my hands up and smiled.

I took the step and it wasn’t what I thought it was.

I took the step even though I wasn’t brave.

I took the step, I didn’t fall and in the end I threw my hands up and smiled.

God tells us if he asks us to step, he will not let us fall.

He asks us to step out of our comfort zone.

Not to act like we are super brave and powerful and strong and that we can do all things but to throw our hands up and smile.

He’s got this.  He’s got us.  He’s got me.

And it turns out the video is such a gift.

This may be a blog for another day but this shows me my son isn’t perfect and he isn’t going to be a photographer when he grows up but if I just let him be him… together, he and I are going to create something beautiful…something worth sharing.

I wanted to share this story with you in hopes that you may be inspired to step out.

Go ahead.

Step out.

Then trust.

And throw your hands up and smile.

©2012 Sue Bidstrup, Great Big Yes™ All Rights Reserved