Read pages 237-238, from about two-thirds of the way down, "You could have been ...'" halfway through page 238, "Beth looked at the ...."
Beth is afraid for Greg to ride a motorcycle again. He assures her that with reasonable precautions and proper safety measures, he's no more likely to have another motorcycle accident than he is to be hit by a car. Beth realizes that she has the opportunity to "either let her faith grow or retreat into the seeming safety of being overly cautious."
In the Old Testament, God asks the Israelites to do a number of things that seem dangerous - crossing between the walls of water in the Red Sea, marching around Jericho armed with trumpets, facing an overwhelming force with three hundered soldiers. Use a concordance to find these and other stories like them. Read them in context. What do they tell you about God and safety? Will God always expect you to retreat into safety, or does he expect you to take risks?
We do many things in life without being properly prepared. Unfortunately, even when we are well-trained, like Greg was, things do happen and we can get hurt. How well were you 'trained' for your marriage? Were you trained well enough to respond in the 'safest' way? Did you have enough training to be relatively certain that you would be able to survive a crash? Were you properly equipped?
Now that your marriage is already over, are you going to trust God and choose to give up any bitterness and anger? Are you going to follow him even if he seems to be leading you in a risky direction?
How can you and your friends help each other step into the risky business of following God into unfamiliar and potentially dangerous territory?
If you have any questions or comments about "A Novel Approach," please email me at cheryl@cherylokimoto.com
