Learning to Skate

This first question may seem unconnected to the title of this entry, but have you ever played follow the leader? One child leads a string of other children, who are expected to copy whatever action the leader chooses to model. All participants are facing the same direction, one behind the other. Occasionally, the leader turns around to check that the others are indeed following along.

For a long time, I thought of following Christ like a game of follow the leader. Not that He had me doing ridiculous arm waving or skipping along (!), but I really thought of Him leading and me following behind, trying to keep up. With this view, I was almost always looking at His back.

Recently, a simple phrase I read in Psalms (I am really bad at documenting where I read these particular things, but trust me, it’s in there somewhere and probably more than once!) completely shifted my view. It was about keeping God before me always. When I reflected on that little snippet, a new image came to mind.

So...question number two: Have you ever watched someone learn to skate? It is so lovely to see an experienced skater taking the newbie by the hands and carefully leading them around the rink. The pro is skating backwards, facing the learner, keeping a careful watch for wobbles and stumbles. This is the image I now hold of “Christ following”.

Jesus does not need to look where He is leading me. He knows the path by heart. He offers me both hands and His full attention to guide me along. I can look up at any point and see patience and grace in His face, and when I feel distant from Him, I am keenly aware that it’s ME who has let go of HIS hands, not the other way around.

No matter how much experience we may have in the arena of life, we each have access to our ultimate Teacher and Guide. It’s just up to us whether or not we lace up our skates.