Risky Business

It was the last morning we would wake up at Frontier Ranch. I flipped the lights on and got 9 sleepy girls out of their bunks. We had our last cabin event that morning and surprisingly enough, they didn’t hate me for waking them at six am. We slowly made our way up the mountain to the rappelling site.  They had been so excited all week to strap into the harness and leap off the 130 foot rock face. So excited until they got to the top.  Heights always look a lot different when you are standing at the top instead of the bottom. A few girls eagerly grabbed helmets and began to practice the motions of the descent. “Hold onto the rope in front of you with your right hand and with your left, pull it out beside you, keep your feet out in front at hip level, and take big jumps away from the rocks,” were our instructions. Down they went, one by one, disappearing over the side of the platform that jutted out into the sky.  One of my friends hadn’t spoken a single word since we had arrived at the top.  She simply clung to the railing and peered over the side of the cliff into the empty space below her.  “Haley, you’ve got this!” I told her, “You conquered the ropes course two days ago, so I have complete confidence you can do this too.” It took much more encouragement, but Haley eventually let me help her into a harness and made her way to the edge of the platform, then over, and down. Everyone was so proud of themselves by the time they had both feet on the ground again. They looked back up the rock face, in awe of what they had accomplished. It wasn’t just the rappelling, it was the ropes course, the giant swing, the horses they had ridden, the ridge runners they drove at full speed, and the conversations they’d had with me and with their Savior. They had risked and overcome so much all week.  

Risk. I never thought of myself as a person who much enjoyed taking risks.  I sat on the edge of a 60 foot cliff and watched friends flip off into the lake beneath us. I drive the speed limit. I have no desire to skydive. The next adrenaline rush has never been something that I sought after. However, I have found a risk that is worth the taking. “It is right to risk for the cause of God”, claims John Piper in his book, Don’t Waste Your Life. The risk to give life away, to put others first, to proclaim the gospel to a generation that seeks only what is popular not what is true, is the most worthwhile risk I can imagine.  And it is most definitely a risk. The Gospels plainly tell me that when I choose to be a disciple of Christ, I will face hardships and persecution. I will not be understood by many peers or even family members and definitely not by the world. But because I know what my Savior has done for my life and because He has so obviously shown Himself to me the past four years through Young Life, I am going to risk it.

I want to be honest with you. I began looking into other careers this past Spring because I was feeling insecure about my income and my future. However, the more interviews I sat through, the more clearly God spoke to me. It was not time for me to end my ministry with Young Life. Everything felt wrong. Everything except sitting with my high school friends talking about Jesus. Everything except Bible study with the other Young Life leaders here in Morristown.  

Everything except the sound advice and encouragement I was receiving from the McMinn’s, the YL directors in our area. God backed me up on this.  He did not open a single door except the ones that would keep me here.  I went to camp not knowing how I would pay rent or bills when I got back, but He provided two different jobs that I actually really enjoy to get me through the rest of the summer. I even found a new apartment just a few days before my lease ran up at my old house. His timing is impeccable.

Psalms 63:3 states, “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you”. To me this simply means that sharing Him, or praising Him, to others, is much more important than worrying about what life is going to throw my way in the future or comparing my life to the lives of my peers. I also think of Matthew 6:25 which reminds me, “Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”  I would love to share with you another quote from John Piper.  I have been reading his book, Don’t Waste Your Life this summer and have found it to be incredibly inspiring. Here is what Piper has to say about faith that requires risk:

This is the faith that frees us to risk for the cause of God.  It is not heroism, or lust for adventure, or courageous self-reliance, or efforts to earn God’s favor.  It is childlike faith in the triumph of God’s love -- that on the other side of all our risks, for the sake of righteousness, God will still be holding us.  We will be eternally satisfied in Him.  Nothing will have been wasted...If we walk away from risk to keep ourselves safe and solvent, we will waste our lives.

By being part of Young Life staff Christ has taught me the importance of, as well as given me fulfillment in, being satisfied in Him. I do truly believe in the triumph of His love, especially when it comes to shining my little light in the darkness of Morristown. My single passion is to share the gospel with high school kids in order to help them meet Jesus. Being on Young Life staff is the best way I know how to do this. I wish it was possible for you to see the light in my friends eyes after camp this year.  They heard the gospel preached as never before and their lives have been totally altered.  They are no longer comfortable living in sin.  We have been meeting at my house every Sunday night since camp to dive into the Scriptures together. They are learning so much about His love for them, of how He finds them worthy when no one else does, and how pursuing a life with Him is greater than any other relationship they are letting fill them up. It is a beautiful thing and is my favorite part of the week. I am willing to risk it all for more moments such as these.