When my father announced that we were going to take up skiing, I thought he was crazy. Our collective skiing experience could be summarized as Ski Free on the computer and some Winter Olympics TV viewing. However, he was determined we would do this as a family, so we decided to make the best of it. All except my mom; she dived in head first.
The first step to skiing is getting the right gear, and my mother was not cutting any corners. She bought a brand new snowsuit, gloves, head band, goggles, woolen socks, neck warmer and thermal underwear–all name brand of course. Then it was time to choose equipment. She bypassed the cheap and used section and walked straight to the top-of-the-line display (much to the glee of our sales person!). We watched as she transformed into a walking Salomon catalog. As she completed her purchases, I envied the fat Christmas bonus each employee of Sport Check would receive this year. I also shuddered at the heart attack my dad would have when his Visa bill arrived.
A few days later we each enrolled in ski lessons with different instructors. The day was beautiful, and it wasn’t long before we fell in love with the slopes! My brother and I hadn’t seen mom since we got there, but judging by the looks of jealousy the veterans had been giving her foot gear, we figured she was doing just fine.
At lunch, we made our way back to the lodge, excited to share stories of adventure with the rest of the family. What we found surprised us. Mom had discarded most of her ski gear and was relaxing at a table with a crossword puzzle and a steaming cup of coffee! She glanced up as we approached and sheepishly admitted, “I don’t think skiing is my thing; I’d much rather stay here in the chalet.”
Although my mom may not have stuck with this great winter sport, she has never given up on her faith and devotion to Jesus. I see her growing each day as she has recently been involved in bringing pies to her neighbors and meals to the sick. As I watch her life, I reflect upon my own. It is not uncommon for me to attend five worship services in a single week, and I know my experience is shared by many fellow Christians. It sometimes seems that we are so caught up in learning about our faith that we aren’t practicing it! We have all the top-of-the-line gear, we are trained and we are prepped, yet once we get out into the world, we decide it’s not our cup of tea. Hard times come and we decide it’s much safer in the chalet with our coffee! James 1:22 says, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” It is easy to get trapped in a Christian subculture and completely forget about the rest of the world. It’s time to get out of the chalet and on to the mountain to put our faith into action!
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.