Let Go and Slide

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed…” Ro 4: 18

Barbara was a patient of mine with breast cancer. I sat across from her in my examining room and discussed her widespread disease. She was 75 years old and knew that she could not live much longer.

“When I was a young girl, I remember a huge slide in my back yard; or at least it was huge to me. I remember sitting at the top of that slide afraid to let go; but I finally did. You see, my Daddy was at the bottom of the slide calling to me, ‘You can let go. I am here to catch you.’ I did and he did.

That’s how I am moving ahead with this cancer and what it brings. God is like my Daddy at the bottom of the slide. I’ve lived long enough and slid down enough slides to know that He is there to catch me.”

As doctors, as humans, we find ourselves at the top of a number of scary slides in our lives. Some of us have slid down so many times that we have peeled the skin off our backsides. Some of us are sliding now on those painful burns. For others, life has been pretty good and we think we may get through this playground of life with only a few minors scrapes and bruises. We may even imagine for a time that life will always be good to us. But that’s not the truth of life. For all of us, there will be scary downhill rides ahead until our Lord calls us home. How do we face our fears, and let go and slide?

For Barbara it was a matter of knowing who was waiting at the bottom of the slide, ready to catch her. “You can let go. I am here to catch you. You can trust Me.

You can trust Me with your past---‘Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean. Wash me and I will be whiter than snow.’ Ps 51:7

You can trust Me with those you love—‘I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.’ 2 Ti 1:12

You can trust Me with your direction—‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths.’ Pr 3: 5-6

You can trust Me with your task—‘Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ Php 1:6

You can trust Me with your future—‘I go to prepare a place for you…’” Jn 14:2

Life is sometimes very frightening and sometimes we cannot even see the bottom of the slide. But we do know who is waiting for us with His slide burnt arms outstretched. “You can let go. I am here to catch you.”

Dear Father,
Help me know that You are there to catch me. Amen