Taking that First Step

Most likely, you have heard someone say something like, "I'm taking a step of faith..." or "She was stepping out in faith", or maybe that is a concept you have used in your own walk of life. Whatever the case may be the meaning behind this idea is today's topic in our Flat Tire Ministries Thought. There is an ancient Chinese proverb that goes like this, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step". How true that statement is, until we put that first foot forward progress is at a standstill. All the planning in the world won't move you an inch if you don't take that first step. Easy enough, right? Right foot out and step. No problem, but if it is that easy why then do we not move forward on all our plans and actions that we know are the right thing to do? A little story about one of my granddaughters might shed a little light on this question, let's get moving. 

Ella's second year of life was lived a great deal in a COVID confine. Pretty much her exposure to the world outside of home was limited at best. Dining out, shopping, going to public events were all placed on the "not to do" list in March of 2020 as they were for most of the world. As adults, the experiences we missed during the past year were not necessarily new experiences, but most definitely familiar and frequent fits the description. Well, I didn't give this too much thought until this past week when we took Ella, now a new experience three-year-old connoisseur, to the Opryland Hotel for a conference I was attending. A plethora of experiences that she previously had not encountered or if she had she probably didn't really retain in her memory bank between that first year or two of her life. Crowds of people, people that you could actually see their smiles, eating in restaurants, and interacting with children and adults alike all made this trip like an adventure for Ella. The encounter that really speaks to our FTM today didn't really involve people, but instead it was her first real engagement with the escalator on the hotel property.

A whirlwind of plants, trees, and water crashing down from waterfalls welcome guests as you walk into the first section of the hotel property. There are elevators available, but for the most part people were taking the escalators up and up for a grand view of this portion of the resort. As we made our way up to the escalator, I noticed Ella was very reluctant to take that first step to engage this new mode of transport. I stood there holding Ella's hand encouraging her to take that first step, but at the same time I watched as she attempted to step forward numerous times before finally taking that first step. It seemed that each time we made our way to the escalators her fear lessened, or better yet, her courage strengthened and by the end of our three-night stay, Ella had become an agile escalator navigator. 

We started our conversation today with the proverb that encourages us to take that first step, conversely, just as Ella struggled with taking that first step onto the escalator, many of us struggle with taking that first step in our own life's journey. Applying for that new job that's your dream job, but would require a career change requires a big step of faith. Being open and transparent with a friend or family member about a developing addiction that you see coming takes a step of faith to start many times. Moving to a different city or state, mending a broken relationship, standing up for what is right all require us to take a step of faith at some point. In all of the aforementioned instances that first step is always going to be the hardest one, but if our faith is founded in God then we can be confident that He is with us for that first step and for each and every step thereafter. In II Corinthians 5:7 Paul encourages us with this confirmation, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." When Ella looked at the escalator she looked at it through her human eyes, she saw something unfamiliar to her and it invoked a certain degree of fear. She didn't really know what to expect or how to trust that if she took that first step she would be safe. After she took that first step the rest of her ride on the escalator put a smile on her face and she wanted to ride it over and over again! Regardless of what "first step" you are facing, you too can have that same comfort by trusting in God to hold your hand and guide you along that journey. The only thing you have to do that nobody else can do for you is take that first step! You are not alone, that is the promise of our faith and we walk in faith because we believe. 

Coach Carter