Let Me Tell You About the Somersault I Refused to Do

Here’s a quick story from when I was in elementary school.

In gym class, we had a gymnastics unit every year, and I loved it. I was the girl who couldn’t wait for that week to arrive. I enjoyed jumping over the pommel horse, carefully balancing on the balance beam, and pulling myself up on the rings. I liked the challenge. I liked the feeling of figuring out what my body could do.

But there was one part of gymnastics I absolutely refused to do.

Tumbling.

Specifically, a simple somersault.

Now, mind you, this wasn’t some complicated flip off a high platform. It was the most basic move imaginable: bend down, tuck your head, roll forward.

But in my mind, that somersault was dangerous.

Somewhere along the way, I had convinced myself that if I tried it, I was going to hurt myself. I didn’t have any evidence to support that belief. I had never tried it and gotten injured. I had never seen anyone else get injured doing it. There was no logical reason for my fear.

But the fear sounded logical to me.

And that’s what fear does.

Fear rarely introduces itself as fear. It introduces itself as wisdom, caution, or common sense.

My mind told me things like: You should be careful. Why take the risk? It’s safer not to try.

And when fear is dressed up like logic, it can sound very convincing.

So, I refused to tumble.

My gym teacher encouraged me. My classmates did it easily. But I stayed firm in my decision. In my mind, I wasn’t being fearful; I was being sensible.

But here’s the part that still makes me smile today.

That one decision dropped my A in gym class to a B.

Everything else I did well. The balance beam? No problem. The rings? I could do those. The pommel horse? I jumped right over.

But because I refused to do one small thing, my grade suffered.

Now here’s why I tell that story to women like us. Because many of us are still doing the exact same thing in midlife.

Not on a gym mat, but in our calling.

We’ve convinced ourselves that certain steps are “too risky.”

Starting the thing God put on our hearts.

Speaking up about what we believe.

Stepping into leadership.

Launching the ministry.

Sharing the message.

And fear whispers very reasonable-sounding thoughts:

What if it doesn’t work?
What if people judge you?
What if you make a mistake?
What if you embarrass yourself?

It all sounds so responsible. So mature. So thoughtful.

But sometimes what we call “being wise” is actually just fear wearing a business suit.

And here’s the truth: false safety beliefs can quietly shrink your life.

They don’t always stop you from doing everything. Just like my tumbling fear didn’t stop me from participating in gym class altogether.

It simply stopped me from doing one thing.

But that one thing still had a cost.

And the same thing happens spiritually. We serve, pray, show up at church, and help others.

But there’s one area where God keeps nudging us forward – and we quietly step back. Not because we don’t love Him. But because fear sounds so reasonable.

Scripture reminds us in 2 Timothy 1:7: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. Fear loves to impersonate a sound mind.

But the voice of God sounds different. God’s voice may stretch you, but it never traps you in smallness.

So, here’s the question I want you to reflect on today: Where might fear be masquerading as wisdom in your life right now?

What “somersault” have you decided is too dangerous to attempt?

Because sometimes the difference between living cautiously and living obediently is simply recognizing when fear has been disguising itself as logic.

And when you recognize it, you can finally say: “Lord, I see what’s been holding me back. And I trust You more than I trust my fear.”

Sometimes, the life God is calling you into is waiting on the other side of the one step fear has convinced you not to take.