That One Step

*another article I made for Jchron. enjoy!

Have you ever heard of the saying “Take a leap of faith”? Meaning, to let go of whatever is holding you back and just go for it. Well, I believe I have lived up to that statement.

I had the pleasure of spending my Holy Week in Batangas with my family and some close friends a few weeks ago. And as a part of our trip, Tito Jack took us to a nearby island to go cliff diving.
Now I know what you’re all thinking... “Oooh! Cliff diving!” But let me tell you, it is not as easy as it sounds.
Sure it seems fun, jumping off a 20-foot cliff with no life vest on and only the vicious ocean and its waves waiting for at the bottom, but really. Once you’re up there… it’ll seem like the longest 60-seconds of your life.

So there I was. 20 feet above the air and my knees shaking like jackhammers. At that moment it was as if time stood still. There would be times when I could feel my legs twitch, signaling me to jump. But they were brief so the fear would start to kick in and my legs wouldn’t budge again. I had a “good” and “bad” (ok, not necessarily bad) conscience that time. My good conscience was Ate Mika, (my discipler) who was saying:
“Debbie, we don’t have to do this now, we could just get off this 1st cliff (aka- a gimongous ROCK) and swim back to the boat.”
Then there’s the “other” conscience- Bekah, Nico, and Mackey; who were all waiting for me at the bottom (incase I “drown” again, but that’s another story ;p) telling me:
“DEB! YOU ARE GOING TO MISS HALF OF YOUR LIFE IF YOU DON’T JUMP NOW AND WE ASSURE YOU THAT YOU’LL REGRET IT!!! SO JUMP NOW!!”

“Arrrggh!!” was all I could reply to both. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to do this. I really wanted to jump. But problem was, my fear and doubt of Lord-knows-what was taking over and was making me pull back.

Then all the way out in the middle of the ocean I could hear my dad and Tito Jack cry out.
“Its just one step Debs. One step and it’ll all be over.” My dad said.
Then Tito Jack adds “just look where you wanna land, look into the horizon, and jump!”

Now, before I tell you the rest of my story, let’s contemplate a bit.
Was there ever something in your life you wanted done, but never got enough guts to take that one step of faith?
What held you back? Was it fear? Fear of getting hurt or fear of what other people might think of you? Or was it doubt? Those constant “what if…” questions that run in your head?
Well whatever it is, let it go. Because seriously, who are we to doubt? We have an all-powerful, all-knowing, and compassionate God, who will make sure everything goes His way. Why His way? Because having things done OUR way sucks.
Let me put it this way, have you ever tried swimming in the ocean when the tide is high and the waves are rough? Well I have. I tried swimming in the ocean using MY style. I tried conquering the wave instead of just being one with it. Because really, you CAN’T fight a wave, it’s too strong. So instead of fighting it, be one with it. Adjust, put aside your swimming style and change it to match the flow of the waves so that you wouldn’t wear yourself out and drown. (hehe. Love you Rebeks! ^_^)

His ways are perfect. We may not like them sometimes, but He assures us that they are for the best.


Hey, even Jesus was afraid to die the night they arrested Him. He even begged His Almighty Father to spare Him. But then- He knew that in order for God’s plan to save mankind to be fulfilled. He had to set aside His fear and fully trust in His Father.

In the words of King David:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strong hold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” (Ps. 27:1)

Then there’s what Tito Jack said: “just look where you wanna land, look into the horizon and jump”
If I’m going to trust God, all I have to do is look forward and let myself go.

And I did.
Yes, I did jump. And I’m glad I did.
Yeah, it took me longer than expected (more like 20 mins!!) and considering the fact that the fall was the longest 2 seconds of my life with the question screaming in my head “When am I gonna hit the water?!?!?”
And goodness, I did NOT look pretty doing it. (go ahead, ask me!! :p)

But who cares right?! I jumped! And that’s all that matters! So in the end it was all worth it.


All until I came out of the water gasping for air yelling: “ANG SAKIT NG PWET KO!!!” Xb