Leap of faith
When I was in junior high I was all about God. I thought about being a missionary, and as idealistic as it may have sounded, I honestly thought there was a higher purpose to my life. Summer camps had always been an annual tradition, all revolving around baptist theology. The summer before I entered high school I attended one last week-long camp; a good-bye to my youth and hello to the new and exciting world of being a teen for Christ.
The camp was designed around a rafting/roughing it theme. A group of 6 rafts, 8-10 per raft, traveled down stream for three days, interchanged by daily activities designed to exemplify God all around us, always. We sang songs, read from the Bible, and shared our testimony. The birds and trees were God's creation, and we were created in His image. It was all packaged quite nicely, as most church camps are.
On the third day we set the rafting aside in the afternoon to try an activity the counselors called "The Leap of Faith." It was cliff-jumping from a ledge 25-30 feet high above the water. When taking the required running start a person could not see the water below, only sky and the great unknown (we all knew what was on the other side of that jump obviously, it was more the psychological unknown). It was about trusting God to "catch" you, trusting your life, literally, to His glory and will.
I climbed the grassy side of the cliff like many others. I never knew I'd be the last one to ever jump from that ledge again. Standing 50 feet from the edge I began my running start, the required momentum necessary to have a successful jump. As I ran I thought, "This is it God, I'm all yours, I trust you completely, this is my testimony of faith, this jump, this moment..." ... and moments before my feet left the ground, I hesitated. For less than ONE second I allowed my body to slow down in a moment fear, the *normal* type a person gets when jumping off a blind cliff for the first time ever. The hesitation was just enough to cause me to miss the water and land on the hard, rocky edge of the water. I broke my back. The rest of the next few days are a blur. Ambulances, rushing, loud talking, more lights, tests, more xrays... all things considered I was lucky, it could have been worse. Much, much worse.
A year later and you wouldn't be able to tell I had been in such a horrible condition. The state shut down that specific section of land and took it from 'recreational' to 'preserved area' for obvious liability reasons. The church camp apologized and no longer has that section of the trip. Each year they raft past, the counselors point up high to the spot where the girl jumped from, and then point low to the spot the girl landed. The group gives the traditional 'woah' or 'wow' reaction and then it's off to the next spot. They can forget much easier then I can. I wish I could forget that girl was me.
That jump changed my life forever. It was literally the defining moment I lost my faith in God. Everything changed. I was a different person. It didn't just break my back, it broke my spirit and resolution that life is good at the end of the day and things work out to the glory of God. UNTRUE. God will let you fall. He did me. He will you too.
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They said it happened when they were in Jr High. Did YOU have things figured out when YOU were in Jr High? If so, congratulations because you were one of the very FEW who did. You should forgive yourself for passing judgement on others and follow that up with a good spoonful of STFU. What is with these Christians on this site with the "I told you so" posts? It's annoying and is the exact reason I would NEVER become a Christian myself. Bunch of hypocritical a-holes.
God bless you and may you forgive you church guide for wrongfully leading your leap in challenging faith.
I'm sorry for the pain you've endured as a result of this. It should have never been allowed to happen.
I believe the superstitions in question are those of a biblical nature; the pomp and cir
BAD WORDstance that comes with all the things good christians can and cannot do, THOSE superstitions. Christianity is one of the mystic religions, like it or not. I'm not sure where the "93" thing comes from but whatever the OP needs to use as a greeting and closing is really up to them. Some people say "god bless" at the end, are you going to assume their spiritual walk too? Why assume you know anything about their spiritual walk based solely on your own assumptions and (ragingly obvious) biases? There's just no point, it's pugnacious.Agreed, minus the whole "93" thing, that I'm not sure why you've included that, but whatever I suppose. What I lost that day was not my faith in humanity but my faith in the stories and lies I had been told concerning the JudeoChristian G/god. THAT G/god didn't catch me because THAT G/god doesn't exist. I was trying to find the great unknown through an outdated and highly manipulated religious sect. You're 100% correct, it's only within ourselves that any kind of Godlike sense can be found.
93,
Pardon me good sir for commenting that you know nothing about me and my beliefs. I find it awfully bold of you to assume you understand them being unfamiliar with my experiences. (I am assuming you think you understand them as it is degrading to the self to cast down another's belief willfully ignorant of any kind of rational conclusion of it.)
It seems that 666 is your superstition, not mine.
I can however comment that I practice and accept nothing I don't understand and I constantly battle the superstition that is deeply rooted in my conditioning leaving only room for faith of the logical and rational kind absent of superstition.
My beliefs and practices should be of no concern to you, just as yours are no concern of mine. I am not here to bicker about discrepancies but rather to fill in my duty as a member of this group. Please allow me the freedom to do so without gracing me with your condescending judgment.
My apologies to you if you are unable to accept my words as my own and not of some group that opposes your personal beliefs.
93, 93/93
So you claim you have found your god yet you are not superstitious... Do you do ceremonies during full moons?
Hmm.. I wonder...
Perhaps you lost faith in what your notions of "God" were. Perhaps "God" is not what you imagined it to be. "God" is not perceived universally, maybe you need to skew your perception of it. After all, right and wrong, good and bad are all conclusions that are subjective to the individual. The answer lies within you and considering your mentality it probably resides in faith once superstition has been removed from it. Good luck,
93, 93/93
The Bible also says not to judge. Looks like you just pick and choose what to adhere to and what to ignore, all to placate pointless (and worthless) online comments. You missed not only the message in the story but the entire point of this site. Luckily your own immaturity in posting what you did will negate any possibility of your message being taken seriously. Thank goodness people like you shoot yourself in the foot every single time.
You should check out how someone who lost their faith in God regained it after crashing into a tree without seatbelts ->http://www.storypeeps.com/secret/40-losing-my-religion/66-the-road-that-wasnt-there
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