When I was in LA with my sisters a couple of months ago, the three of us decided to go sky-diving together. It was a first time experience for all of us. I had always wanted to experience the thrill of jumping out of a plane. I blame my mother for such dare-devil antics as she is the one who began the trend by dragging me unwillingly on big and scary roller coasters when I was a child. I decided that sky-diving would be a good way to celebrate turning the big 3-0. I also decided it would be even more memorable if done with my sisters in another state. As if we would need yet another memorable experience to add to our store of fun experiences in LA.
I did some mediocre research on skydiving in the LA area. I found out in order for the three of us to be able to go up in the same plane at the same time we would need to make a 90 minute drive outside of LA. I called around and found a place in Perris, CA. I asked as many questions I could think of when I made the reservations, which was actually not as many questions as you might think. Basically the only information I came armed with was what was considered appropriate dress. That was it. I assumed that we would take some sort of class or training before getting on the plane.
We arrived to our sky-diving location and were a little worried by it's somewhat remote desert location, pock-marked parking lot and a an unexpectedly small grouping of hangars. We were shown a sales video upon arrival and then led into another room where a lawyer in another video droned on about the legal rights we would be expected to sign away. We then went through a boatload of paperwork, before being led directly outside to meet with our tandem partners. Within 20 minutes we had donned our flight suits, gear and etc., received a very brief set of instructions on how to jump out of a plane and were then led to a plane which was packed with 20 people.
As the plane climbed in altitude, our tandem partners joked around, took the requested pictures and then began to strap us to them. I have never been so close to anyone else in my life and got a good idea of what it must be like to be a Siamese twin. The next thing we know we are preparing to jump. At the last minute one of our instructors mentioned something about remembering to breathe. To which I replied, "why on earth would I need to remember how to breathe?" He explained that for most people on their first jump the experience is very overwhelming and their mind is unable to process everything they are experiencing quickly enough. They forget to breath. Well, naturally I assumed my above average intelligence and brain sinapses could handle a simple thing like breathing, but I still decided to keep this good advice in mind. The next thing I know one of my sisters is leaping out of the plane and then it is my turn. I kneel with my tandem partner, arch my body backward as instructed and wait. Suddenly it occurs to me that I am no longer in the plane. I have been in the open air with its' wide blue sky for a couple of seconds before I even realize it.
And then hard upon that realization comes some anxiety about the amount of air rushing into my face at a velocity of up to 120mph. Suddenly I realize why people forget to breathe. The air is coming at me so fast and cold that I question my ability to catch even a small portion of it into my lungs. I focus on breathing in and breathing out. I don't even notice the view. And then my partner is tapping my hand letting me know that it is time to pull the cord, only I can't find it. No worries, he pulls it for me. Then we fall much more slowly in a floating way in a wide vast sky with the earth below us. And it is incredible!! I can see for miles. Everything is so clear and full of color even though we are in a desert like area. The sky seems enormous. And we pull the cords on the parachute turning quick circles in the air. We are just playing and having fun now. A thought occurs to me that my partner never said anything to me about landing. I don't know how to land! I mention this to him and he assures me that there is no need to worry, that he will let me know what to do as we get closer to the ground. And he does. The ground comes up to meet our feet quickly and it is all over. For a brief moment I am nauseated over what I have just done, but that soon passes and my mind is overwhelmed trying to process all that has just occurred. I can't believe I did it! And that my sisters did it.
The other day I realized how like tandem sky-diving is to faith. We talk about taking leaps of faith and in the back of our minds is the belief that a leap of faith is a scary thing. Like jumping off of a cliff. What a scary thing, to step into thin air. What is at the bottom? What if we fall and there is nothing to catch us? What if we hit the ground and severely injure ourselves? But really faith is more like sky-diving. God is our partner. All that is required of us is to use the equipment He has given us, put it on, let Him strap us in. We have to choose not to entertain doubts about the safety of the equipment and the trust worthiness of our tandem partner. We have to listen to the few basic instructions He gives us. We have to allow ourselves to be strapped so tightly to Him that it is like the two are one. And then we let Him guide us out of our small enclosed spaces into wide, vast, open air. We don't have to worry about all the little details during our leap. That is up to our experienced partner. We just have to focus on the little we have been given to do. Breathe in, breathe out and if you can't find the cord for the parachutes, no worries, God has it. And then we fly, we marvel at the wonder of the world we find ourselves in, we laugh, we cheer and enjoy the ride to earth. Here is the thing, it is all God! We are just along for the ride. We don't have to worry because He has done this a thousand times and not had an accident yet. He knows what He is doing and where He is taking us and we can trust Him to get us there safely. We can rest and enjoy the ride. And then when we land we can marvel. Did I just do that? I can't believe it is over already. What on earth was I worried and anxious about? That is one of the easiest, most enjoyable experiences I've ever had. Wow! Let's do it again God.
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