As I hung upside down, suspended halfway between a bridge that separates two southern
African countries and the Zambezi River, an overwhelming feeling of relief washed over me.
Roughly fifty seconds prior I had stood on the edge of the aforementioned Victoria Falls bridge. I would like to tell you that at that moment I was filled with some mixture of anticipation, zeal and adrenaline. However, that was not the case, my feelings were just the opposite. Fear of death and nearly debilitating trepidation were a far more accurate description of my feelings; perhaps watching a video of a women’s rope snapping at that same rapids had a part to play in these feelings.
Looking down at the churning rapids dashing over the rocks, time seemed to stop. I heard “5, 4, 3, 2, 1”, being counted in broken english. I took a breath, extended my arms, and jumped forward. What happened next is difficult to put into words. From watching videos I can tell you the jump was followed by 111 meters of free fall over a span of 3 seconds. At which point the cords attached to my feet caught me and set into motion a period where a great variety of forces had their way with me. It seems rather cliche to recount my experience with words like; exhilarating, incredible, and nerve-wracking, yet they aptly describe plunging head first hundreds of feet.
It was incredibly fun, considering how much deliberation was spent deciding to jump. Now let me make a spiritual parallel. Bungee jumping was more than fear followed by jubilation, or a crazy GoPro video. It paints a powerful picture of our lives. So often in life God meets us at the bridge. Calling us to jump, abandoning any semblance of comfort for His plan He has called us to. He calls us to let go of our plans, vocations and earthly treasures, for the unknown. Thankfully the unknown isn’t the Zambezi river, rather it’s the best thing that could happen to us. In the case of bungee jumping, had I not jumped, I would have been pushed off. In our faith lives however, the onus is on us. We must take the leap, and as soon as we do, God catches us. Looking back to the feeling of relief I experienced as I hung upside down, all I can do I smile. It’s rare that something so terrifying turns into a feeling of (earthly) joy. God does the same for us. When we truly jump head first into life, and live with reckless abandon, God does amazing things.
