He’ll Be There to Catch You

I am a child of the ’80s. That means I wore a lot of polyester, knew the glorious transition between corded and cordless phones, and watched a LOT of cartoons. I had several favorites (hello DuckTales, Jem, The Smurfs, and Inspector Gadget) but the classics, like Looney Tunes, were always a staple. Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, that’s where it was at. And, that’s exactly what popped into my head when I was thinking about God the other day. How’s that for an odd combination?

Let’s unpack it.

My family is currently in a transition period. My husband will have a job somewhere else next year, but we don’t know where yet. We have made the decision to leave our current situation, knowing we want to make a transition. But we made that leap not knowing where we were going to land. We are, quite literally, hanging over a gap of unknown. That’s what made me think about the coyote.

You see, the coyote always seemed to find himself out over the edge of a canyon with nothing but air beneath him. The audience would see him recognize the peril of his situation, look them in the eye, and then fall. The poor guy never learned. He just fell, again and again.

I feel like that coyote right now. I see the unknown below, me and I just know I am going to fall unless something holds me up.

I put on my Jesus goggles and realize that Peter’s attempt to walk on the water is the spiritual equivalent of that beloved ’80s cartoon coyote. They both had so much confidence when they first stepped out. They both even got a little ways. But then they focused on the circumstances and they fell, or sank, into the fear below. Let’s watch the scene:

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (Matt. 14:25-32 NIV)

Peter. I sure love that guy. I know he gets a bad rap sometimes because he has so many biblical gaffes, but at least he tries! Nobody else climbed out of that boat onto the waves. Nobody else took a risk like he did that night. Maybe the reason we see so many of Peter’s “failures” is because he was one who was willing to walk out on the edge of his faith, to see how far it would carry him, and when it would fail.

I want to be Peter, and I want to be Wile E. Coyote, hanging over the edge with every ounce of guts I have, but I would also really like to make it sometimes. I want to find myself held up by God. I want to be willing to step out on the waves, to do “crazy” things God asks of me, but to make it more than a step or two before I get soaked.

My greatest joy in thinking through all this (aside from the nostalgia from my childhood) is that I know, whether I fall or make it, Jesus is with me in both. God is not the God of success; he is the God of faith. He is the God of the try-ers and fail-ers, he is the God of the made-it-part-way-ers, he is the God even of the fearful pray-ers. God will catch you. He’ll catch me.

So that’s where I’m going to be for now. Each day, I will use the visual of hanging in the yawning gap between two canyons, the edges of which I cannot see. I will remain mid-leap in my mind, aware of the air I could fall through beneath me. But as I am the artist of my own cartoon, beneath my feet there is not just air. I have drawn in faith the hand of God, holding me up, keeping me afloat, and sustaining my effort to get to the other side until it appears.

The greatest adventures are out there, past the edge of the canyon, out on the water, on the way toward wherever Jesus has called you. You may as well go ahead and take the leap because, even if you start to sink, you can always say, “Lord, save me!” His hand is right there to catch you.

Anne Rulo is an author, speaker, professional counselor, marriage and family therapist and veteran coach’s wife. She and her husband Tim have two children and are passionate about reaching people for Christ and sharing information on coaching, marriage, family, and mental health. Read more from Anne at www.annerulo.com.

Photograph © David Mullins, used with permission