As I looked behind me, I could see the top of the oak tree my long and slender platform extended from, shake and twist with every move I made.   Looking forward, I could see way below me the bottom of the ravine where it appeared the open maul of the earth was ready to swallow me.  I heard the metal clink as the karabiner gate closed into place. Immediately it hit me; the weight of the cables pulling me towards the edge.  The harder I resisted, the greater the tension on the swing cables and the stronger the draw to the edge.  I was faced with a decision at that point in time. On one hand, I could allow my fear to keep me frozen in place.  Although the status quo was unpleasant and unsustainable, I knew what I had there on the end of that platform.  The other choice was to keep resisting the source of my fear and let the weight of the cables do their job and pull me into the unknown where after the second or two of weightless uncertainty, I would experience the adventure of a lifetime.  I am glad I took the leap.

This same scenario could be a description of my life of faith.  I have had different sources of fear that motivated me towards God.  At first it was the fear of judgment and punishment.  I am glad that God had something much better in mind.  My experiences, both structured and planned as well as those happenstances of life, have continued to question the skewed vision I had of God.  Each time I was willing to question what I thought I knew, I discovered a clearer picture of the truth (Robinson, 2009).  What causes you fear?  Where might it seek to lead you?

Nearly twenty years ago now, I was sixty feet up an eighty foot cliff.  I found myself paralyzed by fear and uncertainty.  The person on the end of my rope was a nineteen year old who had never rock climbed before.  Although I knew the equipment would work and keep me safe, I did not have the same assurances about him.  Running out of strength, my mind clouded and I could not find a way forward.  In the next moments, I fell.  The rope held, as did my belayer, and I quickly completed the climb with little effort.

Looking back I see in this short encounter the essence of my experience on Frost’s “road less travelled”.  You see going down the less travelled path has been for me less some spectacular scenario and more simple choices. These choices are moments when I could have stayed trapped in what I knew or risk something unfamiliar; I was compelled into the unknown.  Whether it was the first time I started thinking for myself in high school rather than let teachers tell me what to do or start asking the tough questions about the faith and doctrine that had been programmed into me as a child, these were the points in time where my life path has been determined. 

Just like after falling on my climb, I realized that my fear was perceived rather than real, when I started listening to the restlessness, dissatisfaction and inconsistency in my set of beliefs about God and began asking different questions, I found that the fear I had about questioning what I thought was truth was more perceived fear rather than real fear.  I discovered that God was not afraid of my questions.  In fact, He was calling me into those questions. 

For me what has been at the end of the “road less travelled” is a real chance at life beyond fear.  The message that I heard and believed when I was young made me jealous, afraid, critical and distant just like the God I thought I had to serve.  What I discovered was freedom that did not depend on my performance but a peace to be found in the assurance of my acceptance by God.  For the first time, I have started liking myself, not fearing other people and experiencing something of the deeper mystery of God’s actions for humanity (Robinson, 2009) . What questions are you being called into right now?