“The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

March 23rd, 2002, was a gorgeous Saturday in Laurel, Md. – a bit windy – but gorgeous nonetheless. And the wind was definitely not strong enough to hamper a day’s worth of skydiving at Louisa County Airport.

Bob Kresge entered the day’s activities already having made 500 jumps – a veteran. But, the otherwise festive atmosphere was about to turn horribly tragic. Mark Woods, co-owner of Skydive Virginia, described it this way: “On [Bob’s] final approach to the landing area, he attempted a small turn at about 50 feet over the airport. One side of his parachute collapsed and he started spinning.”

Fifty feet later, Bob Kresge was dead. He was 33.

Anyone will tell you that skydiving carries a great deal of risk – and so does life. What may look like another typical day may be only hours – or minutes – from an unexpected “spin” caused by life’s own “collapsed parachutes” i.e. the loss of a job, a damaged relationship, a broken heart, financial burdens, the death of a loved one.

Not once in Scripture will you find God telling us our “parachutes” will never collapse. In fact, Psalm 34:19 tells us to expect it. What God does say is that when we fall He’ll be there to catch us.

Soli Deo Gloria, Nick