High wire daredevil Nik Wallenda has earned plaudits aplenty for his death defying walks over the Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon. All this while carrying his cross…
A little breath of wind might not put you off your stride as you carry your shopping to the car, but if you’re hundreds of feet above solid ground on a narrow wire pathway to the other side of the Grand Canyon, it can do funny things to your balance.
For Nik Wallenda, though, it’s all in a day’s work. The high wire walker recently completed a walk across the Grand Canyon, and already had a Niagara Falls crossing on his résumé.
As an outspoken Christian, Nik wears a cross necklace as he takes to the wire, and his faith has become almost as much of a focus as his wonder walks.
“Every walk that I take, I praise God,” he explains. “Often I sing praise and worship songs because it keeps me calm and focused and very, very peaceful. God provides the peace that passes all understanding. That’s how I stay calm and peaceful. I don’t do yoga. I don’t meditate. I don’t do any of that. I trust in Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour. He brings me peace.
“I am not in any way being foolish or testing God. This is something I train very hard for. I want to make sure people know I am not testing God, but I trust God and believe he has given me the ability and presented me with opportunities such as Niagara Falls. I have received thousands of e-mails from believers and non-believers saying, ‘You’ve inspired me’. One recent email said, ‘I haven’t gone to church in 30 years, and after seeing that, can you help me find a church in my area?’ It’s such a cool opportunity.”
If it seems like that’s some length to go to just to help someone find a church, it’s worth remembering that wire walking comes naturally to Nik, who is in fact a seventh generation Great Wallenda. Not only does he have a circus heritage, however, but he was brought up in a Christian home.
“I was born and raised in church and I gave my life to Christ when I was four years old,” Nik says. “I’m very much about letting people know that I am real. I like them to realise there is something different about me.
“While I was finishing the Niagara Falls walk, I gave praise to God, thanking him for the success of making it to the other side. It was an amazing opportunity for me, the fact that they left my microphone on the entire time. My words of praise were just so natural, and I think that is what affected a lot of people around the world.
“My faith plays a huge role in my life, and I am very blessed to be where I am. I believe God gives me a unique ability to walk the wire, but it’s up to me whether I train properly. There’s a lot of people that have amazing relationships with Christ and lose their lives in a car accident. Does that mean they didn’t have a good enough relationship with Jesus? No. Life happens and God created us all in his image, but we’re all our own people. We’re not robots. We make decisions. I don’t think he keeps me up there, but I definitely know where I’m going if I were to fall and lose my life.”
It might sound like Nik is about ready to start preaching, but before he starts talking, he’s very clear on the perks of being a performer rather than a pastor. “I think that one of the blessings of being a layman is that people can relate to you more,” he suggests. “You are not paid to preach and, therefore, they relate to that. I think about the challenges of getting across that wire, and the challenges people face every day – cancer or any other battle. Either way, the challenge is focusing on getting to the other end.
“So often we say, ‘I don’t understand this, God. This doesn’t make sense.’ That’s when we need to remember what Scripture says, that we lean not on our own understanding. It’s about his ways, not our ways.”
Giving up isn’t really in Nik Wallenda’s vocabulary. Once you’re out on the wire, it’s an all or nothing kind of scenario. “Most of my autographs are signed ‘never give up’, because those are three words I live by. No matter what comes at me, whatever challenges come my way, I never give up.
“I believe in pursuing your dreams and always focusing on the positive. If you set your mind to it, if you train hard enough, if you focus enough, you can accomplish anything in life, no matter who you are. So many people lose their dreams because they talk themselves out of it. I hope what people see me do inspires them to believe nothing is impossible.”
Achieving the impossible and inspiring people to overcome their own challenges are noble aims, but Nik is keen to stress that he’s a normal person underneath all the astounding feats and the resounding message behind them.
“I think Christians sometimes put a persona on others that we’re better than everybody. In my opinion there’s almost an arrogance that comes out of a lot of churches, that it’s a private club. So I hope that people see me as a role model of, ‘Yes, he makes mistakes, and yes, he makes errors, but the difference is that he’s accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour’.
“The fact is that, hey, I’m human. I make mistakes like everyone else, and I thank God for his grace. That’s the only reason why I’m here today.”