Risk has to do with exposure to loss or danger; something that most of us are not too keen to encounter.
I am okay with the idea of being a risk taker as long as the risk is to some degree controlled and the inevitable outcome will bring a reward. I read about risk takers and I admire them, often giving them the title of hero or champion. Their stories thrill and inspire me. But still, the thrill and the inspiration do not propel me towards taking a risk myself unless I can control the outcome.
Just yesterday, I shared a video on Facebook and I did not calculate the risk and indeed, the opinions shared in that video post were not met with approval by some of my FB friends. The backlash of comments left me feeling exposed to a loss of respect and the danger of being misunderstood.
It reminded me of the old saying: “if you don’t stand for something you will most likely fall for anything.”
Living wholeheartedly requires us to take risks and something miraculous happens to risk when it is coupled with faith.
The dictionary defines Faith as complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
The union of risk and faith changes everything. If I know that I am not alone and that my confidence extends beyond myself, my ability to take a risk is expanded to include things that would have otherwise looked impossible.
This is the message that Mary Beth Chapman shares with us in her book “Choosing to See”.
She captures the tension in our struggle for control and wholehearted living. She and her husband took a risk firmly grounded in faith and they live with the unimaginable loss the risk created and they thrive in the midst of it.
This is the story of daring to open their hearts to love only to have that love rip a gaping hole in the fabric of their family.
Mary Beth is a passionate and vulnerable woman who opens the door to her life and lets us take a journey with her through insecurity, depression, control issues, and the ultimate consequence of choosing to see God through all the circumstances that have shaped her narrative.
I am thankful for her willingness to take the risk of writing her story…for allowing me to cry with her and rejoice with her. The wonder of this life is that although in this world I may never know her, her story intersects with mine at the foot of the cross where Jesus suffered the consequence of the greatest risk (exposure to danger and loss) of all time. Her story is a reflection of that loss. It is the story of unfathomable loss that leads us to really SEE.
As the Apostle Paul tells us:
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Philippians 3:8
