Are You Going To Clip In Or Not?

In my previous career as a recreation therapist, I had the privilege of offering therapeutic services in a high ropes course setting at a mental health treatment facility. It was an incredibly transformative venue for both patients and facilitators alike.

Without a doubt, one of the hardest parts of training was learning to use a self-belay system sometimes called "Lobster Claws" in order to set up the ropes for the course before a climb. The device consists of two large carabiners attached to your climbing harness, which are clipped into large staples set into the poles. Clip in your first carabiner as high as you can reach, climb a few feet, clip your second carabiner in as high as you can from that spot, climb back a step or two to reach and unclip your first, (adjust your rope lengths so that you can actually get back down to your last clip), climb back past your second carabiner and clip your first one in again to a higher spot, and so on and so forth until you're up to the top of the pole.

I recall this being a mentally taxing activity for all of us trainees as we got started. One day, one of us trainees expressed that it was quite scary to have the pressure of belaying yourself and how we would much prefer the traditional belay system with someone else holding our ropes from the ground.

Our trainer was amused by this comment. "That's really funny to me," she said, "that you're willing to put your life in the hands of someone else, but you don't trust yourself to clip in. You're not going to fall if you're clipped in, so are you going to clip in or not?"

It's downright uncomfortable when we find ourselves committed to a challenging task that will only be accomplished by our own power, skill, determination, and grit. We worry of what could happen, no matter how likely (or unlikely). The list of "what if's" can consume us when we let it.

We must have faith that we will not fall. The first part of that is to fully trust in our God-given abilities. When we commit our best to the tasks ahead and choose to push through the discomfort when it inevitably arrives, we are prepared to weather the storms of any challenge. The other, much more important part is that we must pursue our dreams with the faith that God will be a guiding light to us all if we truthfully and tirelessly strive to accomplish His will in all that we do.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" - Jeremiah 29:11

What dream have you hesitated to clip in to? Are you going to clip in or not?

You Are Made For More.