A Leap of Faith

Jake finished taping up the box that held his video games. "What do you think my new school will be like?" he asked Mom."I'm guessing it will be similar to Wilson, but we'll have to find out when we get to New Jersey." Mom smiled and gave him a hug. "It's gonna be all right, you know." "I know," Jake said. When Mom left the room, Jake picked up a photo album and looked through it. He saw a picture of his best friend, Matt. They'd been best friends since kindergarten, and they played basketball together every day after school. What would he do without him? "Jake!" Mom called. "We're leaving for Grandma's. Don't forget your swimsuit!" In the car, Sarah, Jake's four-year-old sister, said, "When we move to New Jersey, I'm changing my name to Melissa the Mermaid." Everyone chuckled. "Well, Miss Mermaid," said Mom, "you're gonna make quite a splash at the pool today!"That afternoon in Grandma's pool, Jake was playing Marco Polo with Mom when he looked up and saw Sarah standing on the diving board, asking Dad to catch her. She had never jumped off the diving board before!Sarah hesitated, like she wanted to change her mind. But finally she took a deep breath, bounced on the board a few times, then leapt into Dad's arms. Dad wrapped his arms around her. "You did it!" Everyone clapped for her.Later, Jake went inside to talk to Grandma. "Did you see Sarah jump off the diving board? She's always been too scared to do it before. Do you think she was terrified?""She was probably frightened," said Grandma. "But she knows your dad loves her, and she trusted him to catch her. That's the way we should trust God.""What do you mean?" asked Jake."It's normal to feel uncertain and afraid when we're facing challenges in our lives," said Grandma. "But when we trust God, it's like we're leaping into His arms, believing He will catch us with His love and protection. We might not know what will happen in the future, but God does, and we can trust Him because He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us and promises to work everything out for our good.""So does that mean I should trust God with our move to New Jersey?" asked Jake."Absolutely," said Grandma. "And remember, He'll be with you every step of the way." -Katie Suarez