Trust

I remember January 1st, 2009. My alarm went off at 5:30. It was cold and dark. I threw on some warm clothes and packed up five or six coolers with Gatorade and water. No ice. The coolers were to keep the fluids from freezing. I drove around southwest Omaha and placed the coolers in strategic locations.

New Year's Day Marathon Runners, 2009

A friend came over at 7:00. She is more like a little sister. I’ll call her Jennifer, but her real name is Nicole. A few others joined us too. We ran a marathon that morning. The 26.2 miles from my house, to Lake Zorinsky, around Lake Zorinsky, down 180th Street, to the Pumpkin Patch, and back to my house took a solid three and a half hours. I remember talking to Nicole much of the time.

We did that a lot on our runs. Sometimes we were silent and that was good too. She lives in Colorado now. I just talked to her the other day. It took me back to those early mornings around lake. We trust each other. She wouldn’t tell me what she tells me unless she has faith in me: I won’t tell others what we talk about, I will comfort her and / or challenge her, and I will accept her for who she is and who she isn’t. We have a true friendship—one where both parties in the relationship are convinced they are getting the good end of the deal.

Trust is developed over time. Through talking and listening. Through being present. But ultimately, trust is given. That is why it’s called trust. The moment we trust somebody is the moment we give somebody permission to break our hearts. But it is also the moment we open up the giant doors named Intimacy and Possibility. Economics has a concept of risk and reward. You don’t get the reward without the risk. The philosopher knows that Intimacy and Possibility aren’t possible without trust. 

The great tragedy of life is when Intimacy and Possibility don’t happen because Trust isn’t given. Yeah, the one who withholds trust is protected from hurt, but simultaneously they are denied intimacy and possibility.

The same principles apply to our relationship with God. Prayer is talking. Prayer is listening. Prayer is silence. It has to do with trust. If we didn’t trust we wouldn’t pray. Trust means we don’t just believe in the existence of God. Trust means we believe God will do what God says He will do. 

Jesus asks us to be his friend. Only the key called Trust will open those giant doors of Intimacy and Possibility. And once those doors are opened, we will be the one who discovers we are getting the good end of the deal.

The best is yet to come…

Craig