The pop singer Pink has been performing her music from high in the air while doing a trapeze act for a while now. When I saw her perform her show live on the Grammies this year I sat mesmerized. Not only was her vocal ability stunning but her athletic ability was breathtaking. The beauty of her act took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes.
Joe Piazza wrote, “Musicians get a lot of flack for lip-synching and generally faking their way through awards shows.
With dancers suspended above her under a canopy, Pink climbed into a white sheet and was lifted into the air. High above the stage she spun through the air, never missing a beat of her song.
Water showered her from above as she began a series of acrobatic feats culminating in spin that made even audience members dizzy.”
It was an amazing performance to watch.
I enjoyed watching it. But I don’t think I would enjoy doing it, so much. The work involved in training, the strength and stamina needed to stay up there, the calluses that must cover her hands, the height at which it takes place would be a little scary.
I wonder if you feel like you’re on a trapeze in your life sometimes too. Maybe Spring brings it on, maybe it happens with age, I’m not really sure. Lately it my life has felt like a high wire act. So much change is becoming a constant in our family, and I DO NOT like it. Last year our oldest graduated from High School and moved to college. This year, our daughter repeats the process. Friends come and go out of our lives, jobs shift, people pass on, babies are born. It’s almost as if it doesn’t matter if the change is a gain or a loss, it’s still change, and it affects my life!
On Twitter this week, Rick Warren said, “Faith is a trapeze act: You’ve got to let go of what you have got, to grab on to that of which you have not. Let it go.”
I really don’t like that part. Letting go. Especially when you don’t know what that thing is that you’re grasping for, that thing that is going to be coming into your life next. God has promised good for us. But trust is hard to come by when so much is changing it seems.
I have been involved in the Worship and Creative Arts department of our church for 10 years. I was not comfortable there in the beginning. In fact, my childhood shyness won over my best efforts to grow, on more than one occasion. When I first began trying to write songs, I couldn’t even sing them. I had to sit on the floor in the corner of the office where no one could see me, and sing my songs from there. What a freak! It makes me laugh now, to think of myself cowering in the corner.
And what an amazing experience it has been to understand and witness how God blesses and expands us when we deliberately choose to give him what little we have. I grew from those humble beginnings into a place of leadership on our team. I was blessed to be able to sing and help lead every Sunday for 10 years. I even helped direct the choir a couple times. It was difficult, but I saw how God carries me. When I am weak, He is strong. I learned to “do it afraid”, as Joyce Meyer would say.
For a few months now, as I have grown in other areas of leadership within our church, and as I have had the honor and privilege to teach and lead the women, I have felt as though God wanted me to release my grasp on my position in the Worship team, and put my energies in other places. But I didn’t want to.
It’s the whole trapeze feeling. Letting go of what you know, to reach for the unknown. But I chose to obey what I felt God was saying to me, and I let go, about a month ago. I still don’t really know what’s ahead for me, but I know that God is faithful. I know that He won’t let me fall even when I feel like I’m flying without a net sometimes.
This week I will let go of my daughter being a high school student. I will let go of going to her concerts, knowing where she is at all times, watching her blossom before my eyes. What’s ahead for her I don’t know. But as I let go, so does she. If I don’t model a life of faith for her, who will? As I embrace the unknown, so will she.
What unknown are you being asked to embrace today? Will you do it with grace? With dignity? Will you be full of faith and courage? Will you release your grip on the past for something better, even if you’re unsure of what that is? I believe you can. We can. God is holding out the bar of our future to us. He tells us to reach! Stretch! Open your hand! GO!
Together, you and I, can experience the beauty and flexibility and strength that only comes from trusting in a God who is bigger than we are. An audience is watching. Let’s not disappoint them.
Great words. When I was thinking about this, I was remembering the performance by Pink and how graceful and talented it was, and how we admire people like that. So if we are on the trapeze act and let faith guide us, it will show in our outward appearance, and others will see us as graceful and see our strong faith. They will admire us and we can use that to lead others too. As the women of our time, we shine through our faith and trust in God and we can’t let fear or distraction get in our way.