Always sit in the front row

My daughter has loved roller coasters since she was a tiny kid in nursery!  One of the things she loves to do is to sit in the front row - so when we stand in line for rides, it usually means we wait a little longer in order to sit in front, and get a bird's eye view of the terrifying drops that lie ahead...  While standing in line (yet again) this past December holidays, we happened to ask her to share her views with my son, who is 2 years younger, on how to approach his new class as he heads into Sec 3.  So she thought about it for a few seconds and concluded, "always sit in the front row!".

Sitting in the front row can be frightening - sitting in the front row of a roller coaster creates the greatest sense of trepidation... but I also remember avoiding the front row of the lecture theatre like the plague, and trying to figure out which seat was out of the lecturer's field of vision, so I wouldn't get picked on for questions :D  

But, having been compelled to sit in the front row of what seems like 279 (but who's counting...) roller coaster rides with my daughter, I have to admit, it IS more fun to sit in the front row, at least once you get over the terror of the unknown drop on the other side of the hill.  And this attitude of "always sit in the front row" has led my daughter to have a real roller coaster thrill ride of a life so far, doing so many more things than I would have dared to do or even dream of at her age.

Many years ago, I encountered the dilemma of the front row roller coaster seat in my work.  And on the picture here, I've deliberately picked one that depicts a tentative step into a gloomy unknown, rather than an optimistic stride into the sunrise.  Because most steps into the unknown are... unknown.  If you know it's gonna be a great stride into success, then... it's not really unknown.  

I had just joined the company for a year, and worked as a lawyer for all of my career up to that point.  One night, my boss told me, we would like you to consider a transfer out of Legal to be the CEO's staff assistant.  The first thought that came to my mind was, I don't know what that's going to be like (just like the drop on the other side of the roller coaster!).  The second was, if I make a mistake, or show I don't know what I'm doing, it's a front row seat for the CEO himself to see my mistake/incompetence.  Better stay in the background with what I know how to do...

But I did bite the bullet and take the transfer in the end.  And though there were many many times that I didn't know what was going on, and it certainly was very very hard, it remains the best professional experience of my life to date.  Because mistakes and (the awareness of) ignorance are the beginning of growth and learning.  I started to know what I didn't know!  And it opened the door to many more adventures into the unknown in the years that have come since.

At about the same time that I was leaping into new work adventures, I also took another leap - and that was to volunteer to lead a small group in church.  I actually had no one to lead, so I asked my pastor to let me start a group.  I found 4 other people (1 of whom didn't even attend church), and we started to grow together from there.  

Over the years, the group has changed, multiplied, re-constituted, moved, and grown in numbers, maturity and service to the community around us.  It was super scary to lead, when I knew my own life was imperfect, and life already seemed so full of things to handle, especially with young kids and career.  But taking the front row seat here was also one of the best decisions I could have made for myself and my family, because it brought God front and centre into my family and my day-to-day life.

As we head into 2019, this is my prayer for me, my family and my church community.  To do great exploits for God, there will be great challenges, great leaps into the unknown and an embracing of change.  Perhaps these will be in the area of our relationships.  Perhaps they will be in our workplaces or homes or church ministries, where we will do things we haven't done before, change stale old habits, or conquer long-standing fears.  May my attitude always be as Jesus modelled: "Not my will, but Yours be done".

What, then, shall we say in response to these things?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  Romans 8:31, 38

Therefore fear not - rush to sit in the front row!

Yesterday, I heard this quote at church: A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are made for (John Augustus Shedd).  

More colloquially, as I saw a young colleague of mine post on Instagram - 2019... BRING IT!!!

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