Fears and Tears

I have returned to a book that I have read before, it is called “Searching for and Maintaining Peace” by Father Jacques Philippe. It is a book from a retreat I attended on peace, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

A particular passage stood out to me: “As long as a person who must jump with a parachute does not jump out into the void, he cannot feel that the cords of the parachute will support him, because the parachute has not yet had to open. One must first jump and it is only later that one feels carried.”

I was reading this passage as I was on an airplane, thousand of miles above the ground, with clouds below, buckled into my seat with the occasional bump as we traveled through the air.

I felt God tug at my heart, with an invitation to jump with a leap of faith and trust Him. To let Him carry me through my worries, anxieties, and concerns because that is where peace is found.

As I trust the pilot to get me to my destination, I must surrender myself to God. The French definition of parachute is para “protection against”and chute “fall”. What a beautiful thought on the great providence of God.

I was overcome with a feeling of peace in that moment. While I do experience fear and anxiety at times, I know that God cares for me, and with His grace, I can let go and find peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.