Henri Nouwen wrote a book called Sabbatical Journeys in which he describes the relationship between the “catcher” and the “flyer” in a circus trapeze performance. He says that the flyer swings on the trapeze and then, at precisely the right moment, lets go and flies through the air to be caught by the catcher, who is waiting a distance away. Nouwen stressed the importance of the flyer holding his position as still as possible while making that dangerous journey through the air to the catcher. He tells about interviewing one of the Flying Roudellas, who said to him, “The flyer must never try to catch the catcher.” His point was that the flyer just trusts that the catcher will catch.

It is like that with us and God. God has promised that he has a plan for each of our lives but he doesn’t want our hope centered on grabbing ahold of his plan, he wants our hope centered on him. God sends the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and often does it in ways we would never have anticipated. Sometimes when our lives are shattered, the Holy Spirit puts the pieces back together into a new design, far better than the way things were before. He intervenes when necessary and encourages us along the way.

Just like the trapeze flyer in the circus, we must let go and fly through danger – filled with trust and hope. It is our job to trust and God will catch us.