I’ve talked about how we, as Christians, shouldn’t be afraid – no matter what comes in life. I noticed this on a slightly different level this past summer.

I used to love rollerblading as a kid. One of my favorite memories is when my church would go to the skating rink a couple towns over. So, when purple rollerblades were on sale this past summer, I snatched up a pair. I was ready to relive my childhood fun.

Now, we don’t have a roller rink in the town I currently live. But that’s okay, I see people rollerblading on sidewalks all the time. I went to a section of the nature trail in town that is often deserted (best not to have too many witnesses the first few times), and I sat down in my car to swap out my shoes for rollerblades. Done. Now, I had to stand up and make my way through the parking lot to the walkway. How hard could that be?

Turns out, it could be very hard. I was grasping onto my car, trying to get myself to move. Every tiny gravel and stick seemed to be out to get me. I knew I was going to fall. I shimmied/stumbled/flailed my way to the walkway. What would have been a half a minute walk took me a good 7 minutes. I managed to get onto the path, and I could not for the life of me actually get skating, I could only manage half shuffle-like steps. And as I’m bent over, trying to keep my balance, I fall. And I slowly get back up, and cannot move without nearly falling again. I don’t understand! Did I suddenly forget how to rollerblade? Am I just going to keep falling? I gave up and walked my way through the grass, navigated the parking lot (very slowly, after strongly considering walking back to the car in my socks), and didn’t try rollerblading again for the rest of the year. They were in my car (still are, actually), and I would go to a park after work, but I would not try rollerblading. I knew I would fall.

This winter, I took ice skating classes with my sister. She is much better at that, even able to do twirls! But I went because I wanted something to do with her, and I figured it would be good exercise. Starting off, I kept my hand hovering over the wall. I knew I was going to fall, and I did a couple of times. I had to stay close to the wall. The wall kept me safe. But halfway through the lesson, I’d find myself in the middle of the ice rink, following instructions, definitely not going in a straight line…but also not falling. After “warming up” each time on the ice, I would always find myself the rest of lesson skating fairly well for someone who had never ice skated before and who only took 8 lessons. What was the difference between me starting out each class and ending? Confidence and bravery.

This winter, I learned that when I don’t let fear ruin my mind and I fully am present in the moment, I’m actually pretty good at doing things. When I’m afraid I’m going to fall on ice, I usually do. When I’m afraid I’m going to fall and scrape my knee on pavement rollerblading, I usually do. Of course, I knew this lesson before now, archery taught me a lot, and my mentor (who shot professionally for Hoyt) taught me a lot. When I went into a shooting practice or competition knowing I was going to fail…I usually would end up doing just that. I’m not quite sure why it works that way, but ice skating reminded me of this. When I’m afraid of falling and getting hurt, usually that’s what I end up doing, even though I know I am physically capable of the task I set out to do. I can ice skate, and I can rollerblade, but when I let fear rule my mind, I end up failing.

Even C.S. Lewis said: “We are what we believe we are.”

This can be applied to other areas in life, not just ice skating and archery. When you’re afraid of failing, you usually will. And this isn’t just a motivational post, because in many aspects of life, we are unable to give ourselves confidence. There is only one person who can give us the confidence we need to tackle anything that we encounter in life – and that is Christ Jesus. He walks beside us, gives us strength, and gives us the confidence we need for this world. Putting our faith and trust in Jesus gives us a confidence that is not of this world. A confidence where you’re not even afraid of death. Of course, we’re still human and we still become afraid, but in those moments, we need to call out to God and know that He will never leave or forsake us.

“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.”

– Deuteronomy 31:8, King James Version

I’ll end with another quote from C.S. Lewis and one of my favorite books. To Lucy Pevensie, when the whole world seems to be falling apart, Aslan tells her “Courage, dear heart.” This summer, I’m going to try rollerblading again…and I’m going to be brave.

If you are not 100% sure that you’ll go to Heaven when you die, now is the time to repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you have any questions or doubts about your salvation, click here to learn how you can be saved!

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