But as I watched the scene unfold on the big screen this time I was seeing it through the eyes of the child. I watched the adoptive parents' smiling faces but felt the uncertainty in the little five year old boy who had lost everything he had ever known. I felt the struggle within him to move on with life or hold onto the hope of finding his family again. I wanted to tell the adoptive parents to stop smiling. I wanted to tell them what happened so they could take him back to his mother. I was heartbroken because it was a reminder once again that adoption always starts from pain. But I've already talked about that here and by the end of the movie I was reminded of God's sovereign hand in the whole story and was humbled by the beauty and redemption of adoption.
What the Lord impressed upon my heart from that movie and from recent conversations with friends is about risk. I will try not to spoil the end of the movie but when the little five year old boy becomes a man he is faced with the choice. Should he risk the life he has trying to find his birth family or live a life of regret if he didn't try and forever wonder, "What if?"
I've never been much of a risk taker. Honestly I have envied people who were. They seemed so fun, so free and I always seemed to be the one who couldn't let go of reason and rules enough to be spontaneous and fun.
I specifically remember a birthday sleepover when I was in fourth or fifth grade. I walked with a group of giggly girls to the birthday friend's house. She lived near a park so we decided to go outside to play before it got dark. It had been raining the whole day but the sun had finally come out. Those April rains had left some mighty big puddles in the ditches and on the baseball field. A couple of the girls decided to start running through the puddles. Well before long every girl in the group, except for me, was sliding, running, and belly gliding through the gigantic puddle. Their hair and clothes were covered in mud and they were soaking wet. I ran through it a couple times after I had taken my shoes off and rolled up my pants but I remember the urge inside me to slide on my belly right through that puddle. However, that urge was overtaken with thoughts of; I could get sick if I got wet when its this chilly outside or will my clothes come clean if I get them that muddy? So I stood by and watched my friends have a blast and wishing I could too.
Recently I was talking with a friend and trying to encourage her to take a risk. Now the risk I was encouraging her to take involved her heart, a little more delicate and important than my pair of muddy pants. But as vastly different as the commodities are, the choices are still the same; risk or regret.
When you look at stories in the Bible, especially the New Testament when Jesus called his disciples. They had a choice when He said, "Come follow me." It was risky to leave their families and the jobs they had done all their lives. They could have said no. I've often wondered if he called others who said no and its just not recorded. How many did he call before He got twelve to say yes? I'm no scholar or theologian but any human could dare to wager that if He did ask other men who had said no, that a year or two later when Jesus rolled back into your town with those twelve men and a whole mass of others healing every sick person and casting out demons there wouldn't be a hint of regret in that man.
I have gotten to be a little more of a risk taker since the long ago mud puddle in the park because I realized I would rather risk and fail then live with regret. Because if I risk something and fail I can still learn from those mistakes. From regret I learn nothing. The feeling of regret stings much longer than falling after I've taken a risk. Because following Jesus is all about risk. It's about trusting in Someone you can't see or touch. It's believing in eternal life in a city we can not imagine with our human understanding. It's stepping out in faith when all earthly wisdom would tell you not to. Jesus is risky. His kingdom is upside-down. But I would rather get out of the boat to walk on water and sink a thousand times than to be the other guys sitting in the boat clinging to the side and regretting I didn't jump up and say, "Jesus, if it's you then tell me to come!" I want to hear the Lord say, "Come," and my feet hit the water.
Has the Lord told you to come? Have you given Him your list of reasons why you can't? I encourage you, take a risk today. Even a small one. Because if He has told you to come, then He is going to be right there if you start to sink and He will also be right there to see you walk on water, to do something you never could in your own ability or strength. Don't sit clinging to the boat because He won't wait forever. He is building a kingdom and He needs people to do His work. If we say no, He will find someone who will say yes.
