Liz Rasley

Here we go again–Five Minute Friday challenge, this time, on a Sunday afternoon!  And this time, later than usual, just because.  Just because this is the moment I have.  A when I say a moment, it’s really just a moment, even though in my mind (the place with no time commitments or constraints) I would have time to upload the 6 or so posts I feel like I just have to get out there. Oh, life.  It’s a delicate balance of needs and wants most days.  And right now, the immediate need after this is ahem, clean laundry. And laundry that will last us more than just a day. If you’re thinking the laundry pile is about as tall as me, I won’t deny that’s closer to the truth than I’d like it to be.

But, moving on…

For a reminder-it’s a weekly writing “game”  from my bloggy friend Lisa-Jo Baker, who blogs (and writes heart-breakingly, beautiful words and stories) at http://lisajobaker.com/

So, here’s the challenge, should you accept it: you write for 5 minutes with freedom like you have no fear or shame.  Or propensity for run-on sentences, like I do.  Pretend those don’t exist or don’t matter. (Ha!) And then you have to be brave (or at least pretend to be) and link up to her blog. Encouraging the writer who links up before you is part of the deal, too.  This last rule is crucial, as we all need to encourage others. Why encourage another writer? Because at one point or another in our lives, we all need encouraging too.

Each week is a new word, a new thought starter, and you have 5 minutes to write….and are you ready? go-

Jump.  I hesitate at the word, which I find ironic because I do like taking action (sometimes) and also I laugh because my sister and I grew up and duked out our sibling rivilaries and wars on the trampoline.  An activity in which you, ahem, jump.

And yet then it was ok- it was pointless, the whole goal of that jump was to see if we could touch our oak tree, to see if we could jump high enough to see over our neighbor’s fence into their pool.

Jump.  Fun if there’s no hard crash or vulnerable fall.

But jump now—it means do something. It means a risk.  It’s definition represents all the things I love and hate about risk, failure, embarrassment.

It means putting yourself out there, being out there, feeling like without skin and without shields.

And God, in his infinite wisdom (and humor) I think may be calling me to jump soon, to trust him with a few things.

And yet I long for the soft break of the bouncy trampoline.