I recently participated in a group discussion that included this video of a girl’s first ski jump. All of us, I think, can relate to her tremendous hesitation about getting started. Yet there are people around her who obviously care for her and want her to succeed. The result is thrilling, not only for her but also for us as we watch this brief adventure. Be sure to catch what she says when she reaches the bottom.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/ebtGRvP3ILg%5D

Your experience of this probably didn’t happen on a ski jump. Perhaps it took place as you entered a new school, asked someone out on a date, walked into a courtroom for the first time, or gathered up the courage to apologize to a friend. Writing about that kind of experience is this week’s haiku theme. Your haiku should include five syllables in the first line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line. Here’s what came to mind for me after I saw that girl’s courage:

First time in pulpit:
“O Lord, please let a trap door
open beneath me.”