Diving off a Cliff

I am reading ‘Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow’ by D
avid Gemmell at the moment. I am not really that familiar with the legends and mythology of that time or place. I watched the film and enjoyed watching Brad Pitt leap around in a mini-skirt. And there is a horse in there somewhere, isn’t there?

Helikaon, in the book, is heading off to Troy. He has a really big ship and it has just weathered a storm. They have pulled into a bay to rest up and relax for a few hours before setting off on the next part of the journey. Helikaon has met up with an old friend, not that forty-five is that old really – Odysseus.

The following chapter, a flashback, covers the first two meetings between them. Helikaon was seven or eight and full of curiosity. He was a cheeky wee boy who had big plans to build a ship and sail to the edge of the world. His father, the king, a brigand not really born to rule at all, was a dour man, whose eyes sparkle only when money comes into it. He had a beautiful wife which was the only reason why Odysseus was there. He wanted to know if her beauty lived up to the stories told about her.

The second meeting between them took place when Helikaon was fifteen. His mother had died, apparently jumping from a cliff. He shut himself up in his room, fearful of just about everything.  His father, who has remarried and has another son, had no use for him. When Odysseus visited, the king wanted him to take Helikaon on his next voyage. At an opportune time, he was to toss the boy over the rails – for a tidy sum. It was not a plan that sists easy with him.

Odysseus and Helikaon met. For all the anxieties and fears in Helikaon, deep inside the boy was the dream to build a ship and sail to the edge of the world. There was a hero struggling to get out. They talked about fear and they talked about courage and about the hero inside. Odysseus insisted that the hero in the boy was there and he could prove it. He persuaded Helikaon to jump off the cliff into the water below. It wass a steep cliff and a long drop and there were plenty of rocks to make it a dangerous dive. He pretended he couldn’t ’t swim and if he, Odysseus, jumped he would drown – but if he jumps, Helikaon would jump after him to save him.

 

It all pans out. Helikaon doesn’t jump off the cliff to save Odysseus – he dives. It was an extraordinary dive. He rediscovered the hero in himself and joined the crew of Odysseus’ shi

Helikaon’s dive inspires me. I never learned to dive. I tossed myself off into a swimming pool once or twice, but me and mid-air don’t mix. I am not someone likely to jump or dive off a cliff. I am not holed up in my room plagued by fears of all kinds.

I was reading in 2 Corinthians about the freedom that the Holy Spirit brings with Him as He makes His dwelling place in my heart. I am not sure just how much of that freedom I am living in. I think I may have built a few walls and boundaries to keep myself safe. In some ways I am no different from Helikaon before he dived. I am choosing to dream small, achievable things that don’t require me to hurl myself off a cliff into God’s resources. I cite my age as disqualifying me from taking such a risk. But the Holy Spirit cites over forty years of experience in walking with God – who better than one who knows God as I do?

All I need is the right dream…and the right cliff.