JUMP ANYWAY
I don’t necessarily have a specific uniform that I wear on my morning runs. I just grab whatever shirt and shorts are at the top of the pile, lace up the shoes, and go. This week as I was running though, I recognized that I most often wear an old army green 11th Airborne T-shirt. I did not serve in the military, but my maternal grandfather did. We lovingly referred to him as Papa. Papa was my best friend for the first 18 years of my life until he passed away from cancer just after I finished high school. I spent so much time with him and learned so much for him. He taught me loads about love. He never missed one of my basketball or baseball games all through childhood. I remember hearing his voice above the rest of the crowd. And even when I wasn’t playing, he was cheering for my teammates. He taught me a lot about generosity too. I remember him frequently showing up to our house with a trunk full of groceries. And he taught me a lot about baseball. It was his first love and the Chicago Cubs were his life’s passion! The background soundtrack of my childhood was Harry Carey’s 7th inning stretch, and WGN broadcasts of Cubs day games.
Papa did serve in the military. He was in the Navy first and then he enlisted into the Army’s 11th Airborne in 1945. The 11th Airborne had played major roles in the Pacific Theater of WW2, and were known for pioneering air assault tactics. The Division was deactivated in the 60’s; but in 2022, was reactivated and dedicated to Arctic Warfare, and based out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, near Anchorage…this division has an interesting and rich history!
Papa didn’t talk much about his time in the military over the years, but when I was a junior in high school I interviewed him for a project wherein I did get a few answers and got to see a few pictures. The obvious question to ask someone who served in an airborne unit is, “what is it like to jump out of airplanes?” Personally, I don’t think it’s something I ever want to do. A few of my sons frequently remind me that when they turn 18, they’re gonna make me do it with them. And though I love them dearly, I think I might have the flu on that weekend.
Papa told me he never got used to jumping out of an airplane. He never enjoyed it. He never looked forward to it. The thought of it stressed him out every single time.
I don’t know how many training jumps he had to do and thankfully he never had to jump into combat, but he said that no matter how afraid he was or how uncomfortable it made him, he jumped anyway . He said that he jumped because it was his job. He jumped because he had committed to do so. He jumped because his brothers were jumping and they were a team — it was expected of him.
No matter the fear, Papa just jumped anyway.
I have an old photograph that shows a parachute landing in a large body of water with a boat screaming to the scene to free the jumper. I can only imagine the tangle of paracord and canopy! I don’t know if that’s Papa, but it was in his file and I assume that it is.
Jumping in spite of fear is a lesson that is as relevant today as it was when Papa first told me that story when I was 16 years old. We all have to face fears. We all have to do things that create discomfort. But jumping in spite of fear, taking a risk, pressing forward “in spite of” is definite lion living. Brandon Webb’s insightful and inspiring book Mastering Fear put it this way: “to move from being at the mercy of circumstances to becoming the master of circumstances, we need to learn the character trait of self-monitoring and changing our interior dialogue. In essence, we change the conversation in our heads when it comes to something we’re afraid of. We make sure we are aware of the fear. We focus on what we can control, and then we change the conversation in our heads.” Webb quotes a friend in the book who said, “if something scares me, it means there’s magic on the other side.”
For Papa, the magic was being part of the 11th airborne family. These were men he would stay in touch with for decades, all the way up to his death. The magic was belonging. He had initially joined the military because he didn’t have enough food to eat in rural North Carolina with the eight siblings he grew up alongside. Papa jumped anyway.
2 Timothy 1:7 reads, For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
You’re powerful. Receive the promise of a sound mind in the face of fear today.
I’m in a season of “jumping”. I’m writing two books (a youth and and adult). I’m developing a runner’s devotional handbook. We are organizing a race fundraiser that will take place in November. And we are in the process of buying land in Zambia! Putting ourselves out there in these ways is nerve-racking and scary. It’s vulnerable and risky. But I fully believe there’s magic on the other side. so we are sending it! Going all in!
What are you afraid of today? Lions face the fear. They change their internal dialogue and they jump anyway. Lions forgive or ask for forgiveness. They do the right thing no matter what people think of them. They take risks. They stand out from the crowd. My prayer for myself, for my sons, for the lions I’m coaching, and for all of you today, is…when that door slides open and the wind is whipping you’ll quiet the voice of fear inside you and take that lion leap anyway.