Everyone Has Their Own ‘Grand Canyon’
Unbelievable stunts
Sometimes you read those extraordinary stories, right? Like the one I came across about this man, a Christian, who breaks record after record walking a thin wire, dozens of meters up in the air, with no safety net. Sounds like something straight out of a thrilling movie, doesn’t it? But for Nik Wallenda, the tightrope walker who backs down from nothing, this is just another day at the office. This American daredevil comes from a family that’s been defying gravity for seven generations: The Flying Wallendas. You get it, they’ve been doing this since they were little, so they’re pros. No fear of heights in that family, nope!
Nik really shot to global fame with his mind-blowing stunts. He’s actually got a whopping eleven Guinness World Records to his name, which pretty much speaks for itself. But the feat everyone still talks about is definitely his walk across a wire right above the Niagara Falls. In 2012, he had millions of viewers glued to their screens, live on TV. Goosebumps guaranteed, I’d say!
The Grand Canyon
And as if that wasn’t enough, he made history again in 2013 by being the very first person to walk across the Grand Canyon. This act, also broadcast live, was truly breathtaking. He had to cover more than 400 meters on a wobbly steel cable. To really amp up the experience, Nik wore a microphone that picked up every single breath. Millions of people witnessed this perilous, high-risk undertaking.
It went well for a long time, but halfway through, disaster nearly struck. All the viewers witnessed his emergency situation when the cable started to sway. Everyone heard him crying out into the microphone: “Praise You, God! Praise You, Jesus! Help me relax, Lord… You are my King, You are my protector, You are my shield, You are my strength, You are my Lord.” For him, there was only one option: to kneel. He knelt down on the narrow wire, which helped him regain his balance, and the cable stopped swaying.
Narrow trope
Luckily, it all ended well. Still, the question lingers for me: should someone put their life on the line like that?
However, this story made me think about our own lives, everyday life, for every single person. Our life’s journey sometimes also feels like an endeavor on a narrow tightrope over the abyss of uncertainty. Our lives, and everyone’s, can also get pretty shaken up sometimes. That narrow tightrope of life sways in every direction. Life has its many dangers: worries, sadness, pain, loss, uncertainty. These aren’t always situations we seek out; they just happen to you, you’re confronted with them, unwillingly.
Living by faith
So what should you do then? What’s the best remedy to arm yourself against it? Well, I look back at the choice Nik made on that wire, high above that chasm in Arizona: he knelt…
In moments of great fear and uncertainty, we too can kneel before Jesus. It’s a sign of surrender, giving your life out of your hands, but at the same time receiving it back. Living by faith means living sometimes in wobbly circumstances, but with a deep certainty that He never disappoints. In that situation, we are “as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).
Every person has their own ‘Grand Canyon’, but through faith and trust, you’ll reach the other side unharmed.
So, what’s your “Grand Canyon” and how do you deal with it?
@wimvanputten