Reaching new heights...

 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 84:11

For 15 years, we have been going to Letchworth State Park in NY on family vacations. One of the first years we were there, we watched a hot air balloon launch and fly over the falls. When we went in 2010, I started thinking I wanted to be in the park on my 50th birthday and go up in a balloon. This year was that year, and this pic was taken by yours truly...

I've always been uncomfortable around heights. As much as my brain tells me there is a railing and I am safe, I feel a little uneasy. Was I going to let that stop me? The Bible says "Perfect love casts out fear." I know I am under God's protection and care. I didn't want an irrational fear to keep me from the blessing. I planned the vacation for my birthday week and booked our flight.

It almost didn't happen. Due to weather, the pilot hadn't been able to do a launch in 3 weeks. The flight on my birthday got postponed until Thursday. We were due to leave Saturday, so we prayed the weather would cooperate as violent thunderstorms rocked the park on Wednesday night. We needed SUN and we needed God to SHIELD the area from storms...

Three of us went up. None of us like heights. Yet in the balloon, there was no fear. That is GRACE. We hit 6600 feet and went through clouds. We saw rainbows and the sunset. We looked down on some of the most beautiful countryside, rolling hills and farmland, waterfalls and forest. It was GLORY unspeakable, one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had.

God has so many "good things" planned for our lives, yet sometimes we are afraid to get in the basket with Him and launch out into the adventure of following Him. We want to keep our feet on the ground, we want a railing to hold onto, we want to be comfortable. But in letting go, we grow, we change, we climb to new heights and gain new perspective. We have profound moments that impact our lives and the lives of others, moments of grace and glory that leave us forever changed.

Let go of the safety rope that has you tethered to the ground and fly with Him!