Henri Nouwen was a Dutch priest, a famous theologian who was interested in psychology and the art of
being pastoral. He wrote quite a few books. He died in 1996.
Somewhere along the line he made friends with the “Flying Rodleighs”, trapeze artists who traveled with
a German circus. He became enraptured by their performance. Here’s the story:
“One day I was sitting with Rodleigh, the leader of the troupe, in his caravan, talking about flying. He said,
‘As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The audience thinks I am the great star of the trapeze,
but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split second precision and grab me out
of the air as I come to him in the long jump.’
‘How does it work?’ I asked. ‘The secret,’ Rodleigh said, ‘is the flyer does nothing and the catcher does
everything. When I fly to Joe, I just have to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me
and pull me safely over the apron behind the catch bar.’
‘You do nothing!’ I said, surprised. ‘Nothing,’ Rodleigh repeated. ‘The worst thing the flyer can do is to try
and catch the catcher. I am not supposed to catch Joe. It’s Joe’s task to catch me. If I grab Joe’s wrists, I
might break them, or he might end up breaking mine, and that would be the end for both of us. A flyer
must fly and a catcher must catch. The flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, and his catcher will be
there for him.’
When Rodleigh said this with so much conviction, the words of Jesus flashed through my mind: ‘Father,
into your hands I commend my spirit.’ We too must trust the catcher. Don’t be afraid. Remember that
you are the beloved child of God. God will be there when you jump. Don’t try to grab God. God will grab
you. Just stretch out your hands and trust, trust, trust.’”
So be confident. Go about your day, fully knowing that you are safe in God’s hands.