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For those of you who
do not know me, I am Andy’s older sister, Jennifer (Waldren) Weber.
And for those that do not know what I do, I am a professional ballet
dancer. For those that do know me it is not surprising that I am
dancing for a living since I have been dancing most of my life. That
fact spurred me to think about how people make life choices. As
young children we have dreams of becoming firefighters and super
heroes and all sorts of things that are extravagant and wonderful.
So what happens after childhood? Why do we end up choosing the paths
that we do? As a self-supporting adult I know the woes of the real
world – the bills, the time constraints, the accepted societal
choices. I fear that most often we feel trapped by all of life’s
demands and make decisions based on that. And those that don’t seem
to get trapped, how do they do it? I would have to say they take a
leap of faith.
We all know there
aren’t any definites in the world, but there seem to be safer
choices than others. When I look at my life choices it doesn’t occur
to me that I could have ended up somewhere else. That fact alone
helps me to relate to my brother and sister-in-law. When it seems
crazy to be moving half way across the world with a young one I
realize there is no other choice for them. God is asking them to
take a leap of faith and they are going for it. It is never the
question, what if things don’t work out? Or what do we do if we
fail? That’s not to say that there aren’t fears and doubts, but that
is where God comes in. He takes the weight from our shoulders and
carries it for us. If we are willing to take the leap of faith and
fly he will catch us when we fall.
Through my years as a
starving artist I have found that people often admire faith leapers
from a distance commenting on how we have such a cool and
adventurous life. But that is as far as it goes. It is like a car
crash that you gawk at as you drive by, but keep going on your merry
way.
Now others will offer support whether it be financial, spiritual,
emotional, or what have you. Even rarer are those who are inspired
to take their own leaps of faith and follow where God is calling.
They realize the need God has for us to drop our nets and follow his
lead. There is an innate sense that this is where there life is
meant to go.
I hope that being an
older sister I have been an example to my brother. For I know that
he has been an example to me by following his conviction and taking
a leap of faith. I pray with all my heart that he and Jennifer are
abundantly successful in Russia, but the truth of the matter is they
already are because they have leapt. Hopefully we can follow by
example and take our own leaps of faith. These are not necessarily
life-changing steps. God does not call all of us to move around the
world, but he does call us to leap. So may your day be filled with
sunshine and smiles and flying leaps!!
-Jennifer Weber |
