Standing on the Steep Side

     During the break from school these last two weeks, I have really been fortunate to get caught up on some odd jobs around the house that I just had not had the chance to complete. It felt good to check some items off my own "to do" list. One of the tasks that is necessary for me to complete each year is to clear the leaves out of the gutters on our home. Where we live is surrounded by oaks, maples, and a variety of other deciduous trees that share their wealth of leaves with our yard, my truck bed, our driveway, and the aforementioned gutters on the house. As most of you realize an abundance of leaves packed into your gutters can only lead to problems if left unattended. The leaves will clog up the downspouts thus causing rain or melting snow to back up in the gutter and the extra weight of the wet leaves and water can result in the gutters falling from the weight and pressure. So saying all that, it is extremely necessary for me to do my annual gutter cleaning and our Winter Break provided me with the opportunity.
     This task is where the topic of today's FTM originates.  I positioned the ladder on the back side of the house to ascend up to the rooftop since the back side of our home is definitely the only side to make such an ascent. If you look at our home from a side view angle you would understand exactly what I mean. The elevation difference from the backyard to the front yard is probably about 40 to 50 feet. Once I made my way onto the backside of the roof standing and walking back and forth is really no big deal. The house has an awning that attaches to the roof which runs almost the entire length of the roof line. In other words if an accident occurred and I accidentally feel the awning is there to break the fall. No big deal. So I made my way the length of the roof, back pack leaf blower mounted, blowing out the gutters and also clearing the downspouts of any possible leaves that had made their way down the exit pipe for runoff water. That was the easy job, now I had to move to the steep side of the roof. Climbing up to the peak of the roof and looking over to the other side, automatically causes my knees to buckle a bit and my danger alert begins to sound off in my mind. Like I said the drop is probably 40 to 50 feet and add to that a backpack blower that weighs twenty to thirty pounds and you can see why my danger alarm was sounding off in my head. As I made my way over the apex of the roof walking with the backpack on my back no longer interested me. I removed the backpack and scooted it alongside my bottom side as I sat on the roof now, no more standing and walking for me! My fear of heights, coupled with my desire to stay healthy and alive,  plus common sense knowledge that falling from the front side of the house would be a serious health issue created a "heightened" (pun intended) sense of care and caution. I edged myself close enough for the extended hose portion of the leaf blower to reach the gutters and cautiously cleared the gutters in much the same way that I had done the rear section of gutter on the house. I didn't dilly dally around on the front side of the roof any longer than necessary and upon reaching the peak of the roof and climbing over the top, I once again was able to stand and walk confidently around going back over the roof line to assure that all the leaves and debris had been cleared. I descended down the ladder and patted myself on the back for a job well done!
     Standing back from the roof I reflected on the fear and anxiety I felt while standing, well sitting, on the front side of the roof. You see standing back and looking at both sides of the roof revealed to me that the pitch is exactly the same front and back. That means that there is no actual difference in how much of a risk exists to falling on one side or the other. Why was I able to walk around on the back side of the roof, yet as soon as I topped the roof line I resorted to sitting and scooting around the same roof? It had to do with trust. I trusted that if I were to fall on the backside of the house the awning would be there to break my fall and that knowledge gave me confidence and courage to complete the job. On the other side no awning and a higher drop depleted my trust and confidence in my own ability to walk around on the roof.
     Isn't that how it is in life? As long as we are in our comfort zone all is good and we walk around confidently knowing that as long as we stay on the "safe" side of the roof we don't have to worry about placing ourselves in too much of a risky situation. Our worries and concerns are slight at best because we are comfortable and our walk is familiar and has proven itself to be safe. Yet if we stay on the "safe" side of the roof the job that needs to be done will not be accomplished. The leaves had to be removed on the steep side as well and so it is in life that the jobs that involve more risk and pose a more "dangerous" set of choices need to be completed. Stepping out of our comfort zone, choosing to move over to the side of the roof without the awning is not what most of us choose to do on a daily basis. If we walked through life alone always fearing we might fail or fall our purpose in life would never be completed. But there is a big difference between my gutter cleaning experience and our daily lives. In life we have an awning that is there to buffer us in case we fall. We can trust and have confidence that if we fall, there is someone there to catch us. Our Lord and Savior reminds us in Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” With this assurance we can be bold, courageous, and trust that we can walk onto the steep side of the roof in life, and that God will be with us wherever we walk!
     As we enter 2017 it is my prayer that each of us seek to get out of our comfort zones and take that step of faith to accomplish more than we have ever attempted before. Some of us have ideas that need feet to get started, others have walls that we feel we will never be able to climb, and others have bridges that have been broken and need mending to rekindle a relationship. Whatever needs to be done take a step of faith this year, knowing that our God is with you and he is there to catch you if you fall! Stand on the steep side! Happy New Year! Coach Carter