Comfort Zone

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“Comfort Zone”

            What are your limits?  Do you see other people doing things and you say, “You would never catch me doing that!”  What is the ‘that’?  Is it crossing a long rope bridge?  Is it standing on a glass floor observation deck?  Is it maybe skydiving?  People who wouldn’t get caught dead (no pun intended) skydiving usually say, “Why jump out of a perfectly good airplane?”

            I’ve never been afraid of heights.  I’ve flown in the old UH-1H helicopters (the “Huey”) sitting in the side door only inches from the edge of the aircraft.  It was exhilarating to me to be on the inside of a turn and be able to look straight down at the ground and not fall out!  Several years ago, my nephews decided they were going to do a skydiving tandem jump, where you are strapped to an experienced skydiver.  I found out and just had to go with them.  The plane was so small it could only carry the jump master, the photographer, the pilot, and the student.  I was excited.  The plane began to make large circles, climbing toward the jump altitude of 10,000 feet.  Somewhere around 7,000 feet reality set in.  I told the jump master, “The pilot has a parachute on, the camera person has a parachute on, and you have a parachute on.  I’m the only one without a parachute!  You and I need to hook up……NOW!  He eased my fears.

            Once we finally exited the airplane and fell for several seconds, the jump master opened the parachute.  It was absolutely serene.  The views were phenomenal, and the only sound was that of a slight breeze.  When we touched down on the ground, I was ready to go right back up and jump again.  My comfort zone had just been widened.

            Do we have a comfort zone in our Christian walk?  Some might say we don’t, but many would argue we do.  How comfortable is it for you to witness to a person who is inquisitive about becoming a Christian?  How easy would it be for you to witness to an atheist or someone of another religion?  I guess I need to ask this question:  Have you ever witnessed your faith to another individual?  If you said no, I just found the edge of your comfort zone.

            We are never alone.  God is always with His children.  The Bible Study group writes, “God's promise that "I will never leave you nor forsake you" is found in multiple books of the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. With this promise, we can be assured that He is always with us and encouraged to always be with God in faith and spirit. No matter our past, we can always repent and return to God's loving mercy and grace. Let us give thanks for God's glorious love and compassion for us.”

            When we are in situations when we need to share our faith to encourage, comfort, or witness to another, God is always there and will give you the right words to say, through His Holy Spirit.  It’s strange, but it always happens just this way.

            God is always with us, not only in our comfort zone, but is also waiting outside our zones ready to help us become stronger in our faith.  Stretch your comfort zone today…with Him!