Pushing Higher

As a child, I loved to swing. I would pump ever higher, always wishing that somehow, some way, I could touch that bit of cloud far out in the big blue yonder. I wanted to dance in the sky, and swinging brought me as close as I had ever been. There was something exhilarating about swinging.

I am older now, and I do not swing as often any more. There are times, however, that I reminisce, and I occasionally seek out a playground in search of my old familiar favorite. Life can seem so simple as I methodically pump, falling up, falling down. Closing my eyes, I feel the rush of air and imagine soaring upwards, into the sky.

I recall the days when my little legs did not yet possess the strength to pump me on their own. It was then that my father would push me from behind. I remember the joy and the laughter, as he would cause me to burst into giggles when he would give me his special 'underdogs.' He was always there for me, keeping me in motion. Eventually, he taught me how to swing on my own.

Christ is like my father in the sense that He quietly under-girds me, steadily pushing me when I do not have the strength. And when the time comes, He watches me from a distance as I learn to 'swing' on my own.

Lately, it seems as though I have been swinging often. Jesus has equipped me and John as well, and we have had to do our share of pumping. We are exercising our muscles and strengthening our legs, and we are discovering how to go the distance. And I know that Jesus is supporting us as we push higher. Further up, and further in... Onwards and upwards, for the glory of Christ.

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