Parable of the Ski Instructor

You know the parable of the Prodigal Son, and the one about the Good Samaritan, but here’s the newly-discovered parable of the ski instructor.  Our Education for Ministry (EfM) class didn’t so much write it as uncover the implications of a single metaphor that we found to describe common experiences in our own lives -- a process EfM calls "theological reflection."  Once we saw the metaphor, we agreed that we'd been in this situation many times --  "every day of my life," said one participant -- and we saw how God works in all of the different outcomes.  

I've taken it upon myself to turn our metaphor (see picture) into a full-blown parable. So, here goes:

There once was a ski instructor who led three novice skiers to the pinnacle of a high hill.  The instructor put his arm around the shoulders of the first skier and said, “You have the training you need to try this hill.  Won’t you go ahead?”    Down the skier went, avoiding the trees and rocks, arriving at the resort below, where she yelled, “This was the greatest experience of my life!”

The instructor put his arm around the shoulders of the second skier and said, “You have the training you need to try this hill.  Won’t you go ahead?”  The second skier asked, “If I discover that it’s too scary, can I return?”  The instructor explained that, once launched, the skier would have no good way to stop. The second skier said, “Here goes!” and launched, but struck a tree.  Alerted by the ski instructor, EMTs from the resort rushed to save him, and airlifted him to the hospital.

Seeing this, the third skier said to the instructor, “I know that you have given me the training I need to try this hill.  But I’ve decided that this is not the time for me, just yet.  I will remove my skis and take the ski-lift down to the resort.  Perhaps I will take up canoeing instead.”

The ski instructor put his arms around her and said, “I’ll see you down at the resort.”