A muskrat dove into our pond this morning as my truck approached at the break of dawn.  Poor fella, he didn’t seem to know what to do … just kept swimming in circles.  Occasionally, as I watched him, he would head toward shore and what would have been the safety of the tall grass surrounding his pool, but then he would veer off and stay in the water.  I suppose that it was more familiar to him, ‘safer’ in his mind to just swim circles than to step into the unknown.  The irony of course was that it wasn’t safer. I could observe his every move in the water.  Had I been in a hunting mood, he would have been easy prey.

Truth be told, I have swam circles in my own pond of familiarity more than a few times.  Oh, I probably wouldn’t have called it that at the time.  I likely claimed at the time that I was ‘being cautious’, ‘not rushing into something’, or my favorite, ‘waiting for God’s timing’.  And sometimes, honestly, I really was.  But other times, it was just another excuse, birthed out of the womb of most excuses to not engage the battle: fear.

Let’s be honest, the adventure, especially the really big and crazy God adventures, are incredibly frightening.  Whether it is taking a new job, moving forward in a relationship, or even just signing up for the child care position at church, it always feels like we are risking just way too much.  Most of us have gotten pretty good at swimming in our ponds, we know our way around, and the water feels nice.  Although we may occasionally head for shore, the thought of actually stepping out onto the bank and away from the familiar intensifies the closer we get.  Soon, like my muskrat friend, I also quickly turn around … back to the safety of familiarity.

But it really isn’t safe, is it?  Jesus, speaking to the crowds following him, said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).  Our King has called us to a life of adventure in Him. It will take courage, it will take daring, and it will take getting out of that pond, but it IS where life is found. 

Here’s to stepping out of your pond of familiarity.

To the King,

David