One Voice

I love this quote from the book "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. 

"If you aren't willing to step out of the boat (Peter), you will never walk on water. If you aren't willing to circle the city (Jericho), the wall will never fall. And if you aren't willing to follow the star (wise men), you will miss out on the biggest adventure of your life."

This strikes a chord in me because there are moments in my life when I don’t want to get out of the proverbial boat, and yet, I still want to reap the benefits as if I had acted in faith.  There are days when I’d rather sit in my comfortable boat and let someone else take the leap of faith.  There are times when I don’t feel like circling the wall… moments when I ask myself why we even need the wall to come down.  After all, who cares if the wall is there, right?  I mean, can’t we just all get along already?!?

Then I feel that soul-tugging reminder that life is a journey and the learning comes with the process of taking action; despite how scary and/or difficult it may be at first.

Sometimes you have to step out of the boat and take the uncomfortable stand in order to change the world.  Sometimes it is your leap of faith that inspires others toward action; and when you stand together there is strength.

In the words of Barry Manilow, it only takes one voice…

Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than
One Voice,

Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked.

 

One voice can empower others toward action.  One voice can encourage others to speak up.  One voice can change the world.

But …. We have to step out of the boat.  We have to join hands and circle the wall.  We have to open our mouth and let our voice be heard.

It’s scary sometimes.  It’s lonely sometimes.  But if everyone stayed in the safety of the boat nothing would ever change.

In yesterday’s blog, I answered your top ten most frequently asked questions.  Now, I have a question for you: 

*  Does real love choose to ignore the wall and accept that a relationship can only exist through cracks in the wall…. Or does real love grip hands and march around it until the wall falls down?

*  Does real love sit in the boat and watch as someone drowns…OR…does it step onto the water, in the midst of the storm, on the off-chance of rescuing that person?

*  Does real love shut up, or does it have a voice that sings in the darkness, hoping others will join in the chorus and change the world?

If you didn’t have to stand alone, what would you use your voice to stand for or to stand against?  ~