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Fri 11/17
Story
A Bucket List Fueled By Faith
Based on “Fear Factor” by Susan Karas
Ever since the movie The Bucket List came out in 2007, everyone seemed to be making lists of things they wanted to do before they died. Not Susan Karas. She was too afraid of actually kicking the bucket. Her fears were dictating her life.
Enter her friend Donna. “I’m going on a seven-day cruise to Alaska and you’re coming,” she said. But Susan feared flying, ships, open water… “Like James Taylor and Carolina, I would have to settle for going to Alaska in my mind.”
Donna wasn’t having it. “Sue, your comfort zone is more like a prison.”
It dawned on Susan, wasn’t faith supposed to banish fear? Where was her faith? She promised Donna that she would go.
On the flight to Vancouver, Susan’s heart pounded as the plane took off. “It was a six-hour flight. What if we ran out of gas?” Her fear was fed by the need to be in control. At 35,000 feet, she wasn’t, but she knew who was. I trust you, Lord, she prayed. Did the skies suddenly turn friendly? Not quite. But she felt her fingers loosen on the armrest.
As she and Donna boarded their cruise ship, Serenade of the Seas in Vancouver, Susan flashed on scenes from the Titanic. “Unsinkable? Right. Tell that to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.” But as she crept up the gangplank, Susan realized there was something beautiful and majestic about the Serenade of the Seas. “Even the name made me feel better.”
The next day found her unhappily in a kayak. She closed her eyes. Okay, Lord. Please help me see this as a chance to find pleasure instead of pain. Opening her eyes she saw crystal-blue waters, gentle waves, a gorgeous sky. Nothing here that God hadn’t made. And it was perfect.
Later, ziplining. Hello, fear of heights. At 135 feet in the air and frantic, she suddenly realized she was in a place she’d never been before. “Above the earth looking down at its beauty…I did not feel my fear go away. No, I felt it turn into exhilaration, as if it was the other side of fear, its amazing mirror image.”
Over her seven days in Alaska, her fears melted away as she marveled at the beauty she could finally see, the excitement she could finally feel. And it was faith, not courage, that had made it all possible.
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–John 14:27
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
NIV
Reflect
How will you stop fear from controlling you today?
I will pick one thing I’m afraid of and make the time to face it with God’s support.
I will reflect on how experiencing new, exciting things can give me a whole new outlook on life.
As I face my fears with courage, I will let my faith guide me through each moment.
May God’s love encourage and guide your steps today. We’ll see you again soon!
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