Faith | He jumped at the chance to skydive with a canopy of prayer

Skydiving has always intrigued me; however, the thought of actually doing it terrified me. But sometimes doing something difficult is a gift.

I’m far from a daredevil, but like most boys growing up, I enjoyed certain thrills like making small jumps on my motorcycle, doing tricks on water or snow skis, and even skateboards. None were easy, but what a rush!

Interestingly, I’ve always been afraid of flying and of heights.

In the 1980s, I tried one of those early wind tunnels. It supposedly had a wind speed of about 120 mph and mimicked a free fall from the sky. It was an adventure, but didn’t quench my desire for something more.

Later, I took a couple of airplane flying lessons from my sister, who was a licensed flight instructor. It was a good experience, but I never told my sister that I felt safer when she actually let me fly the plane.

The summer of 1989, I remember thinking that if I were ever going to try skydiving, I had to do it now. My wife and I had completed all the paperwork for adopting a baby and had been approved and placed on an active list. Doing something risky like jumping out of a plane might never happen once we were parents, no matter how much of a gift it would be to cross it off my “bucket list”.

When an opportunity to skydive came up at Vista Field in Kennewick, I was thrilled yet apprehensive. Right away I checked with my insurance agent to see if I was covered or needed an extra rider to skydive and then signed up to do a tandem jump.

Then the day came to make a decision. To jump or not to jump. The airplane stood ready to take on its trembling cargo.

I’ll admit I was petrified of getting into that airplane which appeared to be old and rickety. I prayed continually as we took off because I had been told that takeoff was actually the most dangerous time of being in an airplane. Focusing on how old and rickety the plane was made it much easier to jump out at about 12,000 feet rather than landing in it.

Right before my instructor and I tandem jumped, I prayed that he had securely and safely attached me to him. (Fear was also along for the ride.) As we reached the right altitude and the airplane’s door opened wide, my heart started beating faster as we crept closer ... and closer ... to the doorway.

We took a step and jumped.

It was much more exhilarating than the wind tunnel, yet so peaceful just flying through the air looking at the sites below. It felt totally surreal free-falling.

After about a minute, my instructor pulled the parachute.

I was relieved when I saw it open, and we started gliding down. He even gave me the handles so I could fly, which was fun. But trust me, when we got closer to the ground, he took them back so we could make a smooth landing.

After we landed, my instructor mentioned that I was the heaviest person (225 lbs.) that he had ever attempted a tandem jump. I was glad he didn’t tell me that earlier!

I quietly thanked God for the thrilling experience, and felt extremely glad to be safely on the ground again. And even though I’m very thankful for those exhilarating moments, it was a gift to step out--literally--and go for it.

But I have no intention of ever doing it again, and there’s a reason.

That winter we were given a very special gift, a beautiful baby girl. Outside of knowing Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, she was the most precious gift we had ever received from God.

My wish is that you would have the most precious gift of all, a relationship with God, through his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus made this possible by his death on a cross paying the penalty for our sins so that we can be made right with God. His amazing gift of his perfect righteousness is given to those who believe in his work on their behalf.

Skydiving is a leap of faith in a parachute, but belief in Jesus Christ is a guaranteed leap of faith to everlasting happiness!

Lee Walter is Sunday School superintendent at Columbia Bible Church in Kennewick. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Ave., Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.