We’ve been doing chin ups since August. Twice a week, in the mornings, before school. And we’ve all gotten stronger, able to do more that we could when we started. But now we are embarking on a new challenge: the muscle up.

A muscle up is when you start out doing a chin up and transition to doing a dip. When you begin your arms are straight up above you and when you end they are straight down below you. Chin ups aren’t too hard, and dips are doable, but the challenge is in the transition between them.

A lot of guys will “cheat” by doing more of a swinging bounce up rather than a true, slow chin up. We are going after a real one. Adding to that, we’ll be doing it on rings (which are both a challenge and a help- they allow your wrists to move, but are less stable than a bar). And finally, my basement ceiling is only 7’6”, so we’ll have to do the pull up sitting down. Even with all of those challenges, the shift from chin up to dip is still the toughest part. I tried it today and failed miserably.

Transitions are hard. Moving from one reality to a new one always involves a loss, or a letting go of something that was a more stable or known quantity for something that is less known. There is an inherent risk of failure involved in going to a new place or position. Sometimes those failures are minor, or more acceptable. Other times those failures can feel catastrophic.

And usually we screw them up in some way. We can’t help it- we’ve never been there before. It is like sailing a ship into unknown seas in the dark. Or flying blind. You don’t know what you are going to face until it hits you in the face. Its usually not very fun.

Transitions are also good. The strength we gain from going through the difficulty grows our faith and gives us the ability to navigate new unknown spaces. Failure is the path to growth.

James says in James 1:2-4, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

Frankly, I don’t typically find it enjoyable. But I do like the person I am when I come out the other side. And if I stop stepping into hard things just because they are hard, I will stop growing, stop engaging, and stop living. My heart will die. We were made to struggle, to contend, to problem solve and find glory in the pain. Transitions give us fresh opportunities trust God, to be who we are, and become who we were meant to be.

Here’s hoping I was meant to do a muscle up. Haha!

What transitions are you facing in your life right now? What challenge are you pursuing?

__________________

Cody Buriff, Chief of Resources and Experiences