Faith on the High Wire: Why Safety Isn’t the Goal

My unicycle and the do or die endeavour of following Jesus.

Photo by Noel Nichols on UnsplashI was about eight years old; that's what my memory tells me. My uncle had built the unicycle from scratch in his shed, welding the pieces together.

I had borrowed it to learn to ride for a church Sunday School talent show. I thought it was so cool! I knew no one else probably did, but that was okay with me.

The journey of learning how to ride it was not pain-free, however. I fell, a lot. I wound up with grazed knees and elbows, and a few rocks embedded in my palms. I remember hitting the ground time but then getting straight back up and trying again.

This happened a lot.

On another occasion, I grazed my knees so badly that I had to wipe blood off the ground, which was a little gruesome. Once, I came pretty close to hitting my head on the concrete sidewalk. But through it all, I never considered stopping, though. It never entered my mind. Although the fall hurt, it was nothing compared to the joy of success that awaited me on the other side.

These types of adventures have always interested me. Adventures of artistry, persistence, and resilience, where overcoming falls and failures is part of the thrill. So when I recently stumbled across an article about the Wallenda family, I was intrigued to say the least.