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Jumping into Life's adventures
Terrified! That describes my feeling as the week came closer for me to jump out of a plane. But it wasn’t the parachute jump that had my stomach in knots; it was an upcoming move away from home to a new, strange environment to attend college—past the typical college age. The plane jump was a gift from a friend to distract me from the fear I had about the move. I accepted this wild invitation, figuring I could somehow wiggle out of the commitment before the date came around.
As the time approached, I decided I couldn’t justify my fear of the jump if I really understood that God is always with me, protecting me. As the Psalmist, whom Jesus quoted often, says: “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there … ” (Psalms 139:7, 8).
I wasn’t anxious because I thought I would die; I was just afraid of the feeling of terror while standing at the door of a plane when getting ready to jump. Because I was certain of God’s constant protection, my fear of both jumps—from plane and from home—slowly yielded to a somewhat guarded enthusiasm and anticipation. I thought about Mary Baker Eddy’s comforting words, “Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee” (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149–150).
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