There are a number of Metro stations around the city that can only be exited by escalators. We often smile at people who obviously have little or no experience with them, however! People seem to put their hands out first to grip the rails only to find that they're being pulled up and are forced to stumble onto the steps.
Yesterday I was behind a young man in this very situation and what I wanted to say (but couldn't think quickly how to say it in his language) was, "Just step out." It got me thinking. I've been using escalators my whole life. I have no fear of them. I know that when I put my foot on that step it's going to be OK and that when I step out in faith it will catch me and carry me along. I mean who's ever heard of 'The Great Escalator Tragedy of 1998' or the like anyway?!
It made me think about life in the One. How sometimes it's hard to watch someone we care about scrabble in their fledgling faith just like people forcing themselves to step onto the escalator for the first time. Their particular trial may look easy to me but how can I after my own years of experience in 'escalator riding' frown on their false starts? All I can do is smile, take them by the hand, and step on beside them just like I have to little elderly ladies and children in Metro stations here.
Or how at times I find myself trying to hang on with my own two hands to something I can't really control just like people grabbing the handrails before their feet move. The end result is the same but it makes for a lot more uncomfortable start! At those times I need to, "Just step out," myself!
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