the first step is down

Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion…

–Psalm 103.4 (NASB)

This morning I took part in a tour of our library’s Automated Materials Handling System. We’ve nicknamed it Wally. Wally helps us with several things. He is part bookdrop, part check-in, & part book sorter. Wally has two book drops, one outside the building & one in the library’s lobby. When material is placed in the outside book drop, a conveyor belt transports the item down under the street & back up into the back Circulation work area where it automatically sorts the materials into the appropriate bins. It’s a complex machine that quite frankly is a bit of an enigma. Part of the tour offered the chance to go below the building to see the underground Wally. However, the only way to do this is to descend down a ladder thru a trapdoor in the floor. Despite the fact that I am not a fan of tight dark spaces, my curiosity far outweighed my fear, so I followed my coworkers by climbing into the bowls of the building. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the space was large & well lit. I was fascinated by the elaborate yet simple system for moving books from the outside in. I was feeling a teensy bit gleeful about the whole thing when I took my place at the ladder & climbed up & out. Have no fear, I’m not about to tell you that I slipped, fell & dangled upside down from the rungs. Thankfully, it was the complete opposite. In fact, as I ascended, I heard one of my coworkers say to the others waiting their turns, “Oh. You can tell she’s athletic.” Ohmygoodnessknockmeoverwithafeather! I have never been called such a thing in my life. Uncoordinated maybe. Klutzy possibly. Awkward absolutely. But athletic never.  I’m not sure if my coworker is blind as a bat or if she is easily impressed or if the fact that I was wearing my black Chuck Taylor’s with the pink laces swayed her deduction. I will say that I laughed right out loud. I just couldn’t help it. & I was super careful to exit the trapdoor without losing my footing so not to disappoint her. 

It of course got me thinking about my month long lipstick challenge & my reluctant triathlon training & my attempts at being brave. Yes. I realize climbing into the depths of the library doesn’t really require a boatload of bravery but I didn’t climb out onto the first rung without a little bit of trepidation either. Isn’t this how it is when we take the first step out into the unknown? We find ourselves pleasantly surprised that it isn’t quite as bad as we first thought & maybe, just maybe, God has already begun to prepare us for the climb. He’s super cool like that.