Rock Climbing
I was able to take advantage of the beautiful weather (somewhat) this weekend and went Rock Climbing with Aaron Claar, Cindy, Polly and Eric at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch this weekend. I had not been climbing in a while, I had not been outside in the woods for a while when I think of it. It was good. No, it was awesome.
There is something about climbing up the face of what seems to be an impossible climb and to see others doing it also. We first tried to climb what looked like an easy route, that was until I got to the "flat" spot. I couldn't get past it on my first try, got a little frustrated. It wasn't until Eric showed us the way that I tried again and made it. I really did not think it was possible, but when I put my thumb in the little crack and placed my elbow just right and stretched my leg out in ways I did not realize I could, the climb was not all that hard.
I think rock climbing in a lot of ways reflects what community is supposed to look like in the church. People helping others through the difficult places in life. When you are climbing, especially if you are new like myself, you need someone telling you where to put a foot, where to grab a hold, etc. They still can't do it for you, but you have to trust what they say to do and do it. They have been there before and accomplished the task. Eric told me he knew I could do this and I did not. But he showed me how and after trying again, I did it. Same thing for Aaron. He tried several times and did not think he could accomplish the task either. After seeing both Eric and I make the route, Aaron did it and made it look easy.
Another thing in climbing that reminds me of what community should look like is the belay person. This is the person who has the rope ready to catch you when you slip. We are supposed to carry one another's burdens. Galations 6:2 says "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." The person on belay is there to help us when we slip, just as we should be there to help others. At Camp Ozark, we called this our "life line". It was a reminder that God is there to support us, to catch us when we fall. Psalm 37:23-24 says "If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand. "
There is something about climbing up the face of what seems to be an impossible climb and to see others doing it also. We first tried to climb what looked like an easy route, that was until I got to the "flat" spot. I couldn't get past it on my first try, got a little frustrated. It wasn't until Eric showed us the way that I tried again and made it. I really did not think it was possible, but when I put my thumb in the little crack and placed my elbow just right and stretched my leg out in ways I did not realize I could, the climb was not all that hard.
I think rock climbing in a lot of ways reflects what community is supposed to look like in the church. People helping others through the difficult places in life. When you are climbing, especially if you are new like myself, you need someone telling you where to put a foot, where to grab a hold, etc. They still can't do it for you, but you have to trust what they say to do and do it. They have been there before and accomplished the task. Eric told me he knew I could do this and I did not. But he showed me how and after trying again, I did it. Same thing for Aaron. He tried several times and did not think he could accomplish the task either. After seeing both Eric and I make the route, Aaron did it and made it look easy.
Another thing in climbing that reminds me of what community should look like is the belay person. This is the person who has the rope ready to catch you when you slip. We are supposed to carry one another's burdens. Galations 6:2 says "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." The person on belay is there to help us when we slip, just as we should be there to help others. At Camp Ozark, we called this our "life line". It was a reminder that God is there to support us, to catch us when we fall. Psalm 37:23-24 says "If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand. "
posted by jlo @ 7:25 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:43 AM,
Grant said…
nice work, bro. thanks for being part of my community and showing me through my own hard paths!
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