Mastering Fear

Faith Dickey is a professional slackliner. Slacklining is an umbrella term for walking on different variations of a flat, woven band suspended off the ground. What Dickey is known for, however, pushes slacklining high into the sky, often into the alps of France, and has occasionally involved high heels.

As Dickey explains it, highlining is when the woven slackline -- typically about one-inch wide -- is suspended 100 feet in the air or higher. For 34-year-old Dickey, the extreme sport of highlining is  an exhilarating mix of  concentration, reverence, and mastering fear:

"In highlining, when you're dealing with all the fear and adrenaline, oftentimes it feels like you're not in control of your own body," Dickey said. "When you highline often, you really learn to train your fear like a muscle. Sometimes the height isn't the scariest part. Sometimes it's the exposure, which is how much space you can perceive around you."

The best way to train for highlining is to set the slacklines up over moving water, Dickey says, which requires you to learn to focus even when the current is passing underneath you. "Your body will want to fall in the direction of the current," she said."It's as if you aren't in control of your body."

To test her skill and prove her agility, Dickey once highlined in a dress and high heels -- in the pouring rain (for a 30-second glimpse, look here).

While most of us may not dream of walking a tightrope high in the French Alps, we all have our highlining moments -- when the ground seems dauntingly far below and we are working hard to master our fear. Where do you turn in those moments? How can you learn to trust the Holy Spirit to lead you forward, mastering your fear by leaning into your trust in the Lord?

God bless,

Jennie