Capilano Suspension Bridge. 450 feet long. 230 feet above the canyon floor. And of course, a river runs through it. A challenge for someone who dislikes heights, and a nemesis for one who hates being out of control. Unfortunately I’m both, so I’ll keep my feet on my good friend, Earth, thank you very much.
But then a voice whispered in my ear, “Pssst. Before you walk away, what about Fearless 365? The year of facing Fear in its gnarly face?”
Drat. Whose idea was this F365 thing, anyway? Riiiiight…that would be me. Guess I better get to crossing over.
With tingly knees and prickly pits, I descended the wobbly stairs onto the even wobblier bridge and began my passage. Were my feet hitting wooden planks or a water bed? The swaying was bad enough, but my faulty steps seemed more like being on a trampoline when your friend steals your jump. I felt like Jack Sparrow walking on land, only not on land, and 230 feet up in the air! Ok, nothing like Jack Sparrow…How about I just get to the walking on land part?
Setting my face like flint, not looking down, not peeking to the right or the left, I plowed my way across the 1 1/2 football fields of swinging nonsense. “Excuse me, pardon me, excuse me, pardon me.” I serpentined through the people ahead of me to the staircase on the opposite side of the canyon.
Woo Hoo! Solid ground! I WON! “Take that, Fear…I just kicked your—” Wait a minute.
Did I really? Had I really won?
When I turned around to find my husband, he was still standing in the middle of the rocking bridge, gazing off into the distance while waiting for the selfie takers in front of him to get their perfect shot. What was he doing? I strained to see. He was taking in the breath-taking 360° Capilano view of cliffs, mountains, and a rushing clear water river below. Huh. I hadn’t noticed all that beauty around me; I was too busy facing my fears. And from where I stood now, I could not see the magnificence of what he saw…Too many huge trees blocked my perfectly safe view.
Pffffft. My bridge crossing victory deflated like a Tom Brady Super Bowl XLIX football.
While I had crossed over, I hadn’t truly won anything. Like Jay was experiencing, a full victory would be standing in the middle of that stupid bridge, no matter how tingly or prickly my body felt, and drinking in the glory of God’s creation. Feeling the fear…and enjoying the experience ANYWAY. Stupid dumb, Fear…you got me again…Or did you? This day ain’t over yet.
For the remainder of the afternoon, I went looking for a height to challenge me. Walking through the Treetops Adventure from bridge to bridge? No problem.
Strolling leisurely back across that suspension bridge? Bring it on. I stopped in the middle to hang out, take a few selfies of my own, and record a Fearless 365 video. Take that, Fear.
I even did the Capilano Cliff Walk which, in my opinion, is freakier than the bridge because you walk single-file on narrow grated pathways (sometimes over glass) that hang off the side of the cliff, higher than the bridge, at 300 ft above the canyon floor.
It was breathless. I was nervous. But I did it anyway, and it was fabulous.
Sometimes we simply gotta give up the mediocre safe view for the magnificent scary one.
The Fearless 365 Week Four Challenge: Step Out. What is an area in your life where you have settled for safety over the adventurous dream you really have in your heart? It’s time to step out. Face your fears, or whatever is holding you back, and take a step this week to cross over. Sure, you might feel wobbly in your knees, but who cares? Wobbly dream walking is way better than perfectly safe butt sitting. The Creator of the Universe didn’t design you in His image and likeness for you to experience anything less than a God-sized destiny…and that’s pretty ginormous.
It's 2017, and we are NOT letting Fear hold us back. GO FOR IT!!!
This is one of my favorite scriptures, and I will be praying it over you this week:
“Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!”
2 Corinthians 6:11-13 (Message Bible)
Living Fearlessly,
Molly
