Grow Your Wings

First you leap and then you grow wings. - William Sloane Coffin

 

 

This week a colleague shared with me this quote as we were talking about life and how once you make a decision you never know what the outcome will be.  It reminded me of the biblical story of when Peter asked the Lord to bid Him to come and Peter got out of the boat and begin to walk on water towards Jesus.  Peter leaped out of the boat and then he grew his wings to walk on water.

 

 

How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you leaped and it felt like you were free falling until you began to flap your wings and realized that you could fly to higher heights?  It is scary at first but then the feeling of exhilaration and freedom overtakes you and you begin to soar like an eagle.  The realization that we are called to be much more than we believe we are is the place that we find ourselves so many times and have to make the decision of will I leap or will I stay on the edge.  The edge of comfort/uncomfort, the edge of potential/safe, etc.

 

 

I am currently listening to "The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential" by John Maxwell.  In a part of the book, Maxwell talks about when he began his career as a leadership teacher that he was never prepared to go to the next level until he just did it.  He used the story of talking about when he was meeting with 34 leaders and asked anyone who wanted to start receiving a monthly leadership tape to sign up on this legal path.  He said everyone in the group signed up and that was when it started.  He shared other examples of when he started something new, he just did it.  So I would say Maxwell leaped and then grew his wings.

 

This can serve as an example to us all that when we leap....we will grow our wings.