I don't love heights, and I don't love climbing, but for some reason, I got it in my head that I could do the high ropes course while we were at Aspen Grove. I've watched people do it dozens of times, but I've never had the guts to even harness up. Well, the morning that the ropes course was offered to the adults, I told Eric, "I'm doing the ropes course today! I'm not nursing, I'm not pregnant, and I'm not getting any younger." So I did. It was thrilling and scary, and I don't know if I'll ever do it again, but the reason why I'm writing about this is because I learned a couple of things that I have thought about many times since.
My purpose in writing this blog is partly to keep a record of my life and partly to keep family and friends up-to-date on the Perrys, but it's mostly to write about how everything points us to Christ.
The main reason why I feel happy every day is because of Him. He has the power to help everyone feel joy, and these ideas are what strengthen me on a daily basis. At times they start to burn when I keep them to myself, so writing is a release of sorts. I want to teach the principles that have helped me so much, and maybe if others are going through rough times, these thoughts might bring them strength, too.
When preparing for the high ropes course, you put on your harness, helmet, and little metal clippy things (what are those called again? You can tell I'm an experienced rappeller). Then the guy at the base of the course secures you to the other end of the rope that he's holding. Before you even get one inch off the ground, your belayer says, "Talk to me." Now, my mind went totally blank when he said this. Talk to you? What do you want to talk about? Isn't this an odd time to be talking? Then I remembered--he wanted me to say the code words. "On Belay?" I question him to make sure he's ready to support me. "Belay On," he replies. That means I can start climbing--we're on the same page.
As I started to climb, I would sometimes get to spots where I absolutely didn't think I could go any further. I would call down to my husband and to the belayer, "I can't get my foot into this groove! I'm not going to be able to do this!" Then I'd hear them encourage me to move a little more to the right, to use my legs, to keep going. I noticed that as I would lift my leg as high as possible and push (even a little), the belayer would pretty much pull me up. He wouldn't do it until he could see I was trying my best, but it was like I was being lifted to the top with relatively little effort of my own.
The parallels? Ropes courses are great ways to learn about life, and in many ways, my climb is symbolic of my journey through life, the belayer supporting me is like my Father in Heaven, and the rope is like my connection to Him. Before we attempt to do anything significant in life, the Lord, in essense, says, "Talk to me." He wants us to ask for His counsel. He wants us to get on the same page as He is--to have our will become His. He doesn't want us to just do whatever we want...we might get hurt or lost. At those times in our lives when we are at a crossroads, we can look to Him and ask, "On Belay?" And He, who knows everything, who will always be our support, who will never let us down, says, "Belay On." And THAT is when we know we can proceed with confidence.
When we come to a point in our journey when it just seems too hard to move forward, we can express those feelings to the Lord, and He will give us encouragement--telling us where to "put our feet" and how to best use our strength. Then, when we give even a tiny bit of effort, He basically pulls us up. We simply can't do everything on our own, but He is there to carry us.
I thought about these things the whole way up, and I was almost in tears when I got to the top--not because I was scared, but because I just felt so grateful that my Father was watching out for me--that day and throughout my life. After I had gone around on the high wires and walked through all the trees (okay, that was scary), I was getting ready to rappel down, and I saw a lady just inches from the top who said, "I'm not strong enough. I'm not going to be able to do this." I called to her, "Just start to push a little bit, and he'll lift you the rest of the way." She did, and he did. It was the sweetest feeling to see her at the top.
The Lord wants us to succeed. He is there to help us every day. As we "talk" to Him, trust Him, do our best, let Him lift us, and give Him thanks, He will continue to be our companion and our friend. I know this is true, and I feel Him so near as I go through each day--the hours of playing with my teething baby, the busyness of starting a new business (which is very fun, by the way), the deep reservoirs of patience I have to draw from and refill each day in order to make it through the homework/playtime/dinner hour without breaking a sweat.... He is so good. I can't say that enough because I am reminded of that every day.
Whenever I need guidance, I turn to Him and say, "On Belay?" And once I hear "Belay On," I never look back.
My purpose in writing this blog is partly to keep a record of my life and partly to keep family and friends up-to-date on the Perrys, but it's mostly to write about how everything points us to Christ.
The main reason why I feel happy every day is because of Him. He has the power to help everyone feel joy, and these ideas are what strengthen me on a daily basis. At times they start to burn when I keep them to myself, so writing is a release of sorts. I want to teach the principles that have helped me so much, and maybe if others are going through rough times, these thoughts might bring them strength, too.
When preparing for the high ropes course, you put on your harness, helmet, and little metal clippy things (what are those called again? You can tell I'm an experienced rappeller). Then the guy at the base of the course secures you to the other end of the rope that he's holding. Before you even get one inch off the ground, your belayer says, "Talk to me." Now, my mind went totally blank when he said this. Talk to you? What do you want to talk about? Isn't this an odd time to be talking? Then I remembered--he wanted me to say the code words. "On Belay?" I question him to make sure he's ready to support me. "Belay On," he replies. That means I can start climbing--we're on the same page.
As I started to climb, I would sometimes get to spots where I absolutely didn't think I could go any further. I would call down to my husband and to the belayer, "I can't get my foot into this groove! I'm not going to be able to do this!" Then I'd hear them encourage me to move a little more to the right, to use my legs, to keep going. I noticed that as I would lift my leg as high as possible and push (even a little), the belayer would pretty much pull me up. He wouldn't do it until he could see I was trying my best, but it was like I was being lifted to the top with relatively little effort of my own.
The parallels? Ropes courses are great ways to learn about life, and in many ways, my climb is symbolic of my journey through life, the belayer supporting me is like my Father in Heaven, and the rope is like my connection to Him. Before we attempt to do anything significant in life, the Lord, in essense, says, "Talk to me." He wants us to ask for His counsel. He wants us to get on the same page as He is--to have our will become His. He doesn't want us to just do whatever we want...we might get hurt or lost. At those times in our lives when we are at a crossroads, we can look to Him and ask, "On Belay?" And He, who knows everything, who will always be our support, who will never let us down, says, "Belay On." And THAT is when we know we can proceed with confidence.
When we come to a point in our journey when it just seems too hard to move forward, we can express those feelings to the Lord, and He will give us encouragement--telling us where to "put our feet" and how to best use our strength. Then, when we give even a tiny bit of effort, He basically pulls us up. We simply can't do everything on our own, but He is there to carry us.
I thought about these things the whole way up, and I was almost in tears when I got to the top--not because I was scared, but because I just felt so grateful that my Father was watching out for me--that day and throughout my life. After I had gone around on the high wires and walked through all the trees (okay, that was scary), I was getting ready to rappel down, and I saw a lady just inches from the top who said, "I'm not strong enough. I'm not going to be able to do this." I called to her, "Just start to push a little bit, and he'll lift you the rest of the way." She did, and he did. It was the sweetest feeling to see her at the top.
The Lord wants us to succeed. He is there to help us every day. As we "talk" to Him, trust Him, do our best, let Him lift us, and give Him thanks, He will continue to be our companion and our friend. I know this is true, and I feel Him so near as I go through each day--the hours of playing with my teething baby, the busyness of starting a new business (which is very fun, by the way), the deep reservoirs of patience I have to draw from and refill each day in order to make it through the homework/playtime/dinner hour without breaking a sweat.... He is so good. I can't say that enough because I am reminded of that every day.
Whenever I need guidance, I turn to Him and say, "On Belay?" And once I hear "Belay On," I never look back.
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