Almost Perfect

I donated blood two days ago. It was the 4th time I've done it, so I'm pretty much a pro by now. So when they told me after I donated to sit in the canteen and eat some food for 15 minutes, leave my bandaid on for 5 hours and not do any heavy lifting for 24 hours, I listened to them... almost. I sat in the canteen for 8 minutes, took my bandaid off after 3 1/2 hours to clean and put another bandaid on, and was prepared to lift my box of clothes (40 lbs) from the mail room all the way back to my room 30 minutes later, had it been there. I figured those times were close enough. And there were no negative repercussions. I am absolutely fine.

It isn't just donating blood where I often take an "almost" approach. I almost finished my homework for Monday. I almost cleaned my room. I almost got an A in all my classes. There are plenty of things I've almost done, but, for whatever reason, haven't. I almost approached a friend about a decision she'd recently made, but was afraid of confrontation. I almost stopped to help the homeless man on the sidewalk, but I was afraid, being alone and a teenage female. Most of the things I don't do end up being because I'm afraid. These often have negative repercussions.

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Peter walks on water. Yes, Jesus did it first, but He's the son of God, while Peter is just a normal guy who usually has normal faith. He is often afraid. But he climbs out of the boat anyways. He doesn't even hesitate. The rest of the guys in the boat were probably as terrified as he was, but it's ok. They can boast that they almost climbed out of the boat. That's impressive, right? Not really.

And it is ok to do things that we are afraid to do. Look at Peter-- he trusts Jesus enough to walk on water, in the middle of a storm. Not only could he drown, he could get struck by lightning, eaten by a shark (do they have those in the Sea of Galilee? Meh, besides the point), get separated from both Jesus and the boat, etc. He trusts. I love what Casting Crowns say in the song "Voice of Truth." "I'll step out of my comfort zone, into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is, and He's holding out His hand... and the Voice of Truth says 'Do not be afraid.'" Peter didn't drown. He lived to defy death another day, until he was crucified upside down for the sake of the Kingdom, and was taken home to Paradise. What faith. If I had that kind of faith, I would never almost do anything ever again.