Belaying and others…

Thanks to Roy Lindman on Wikipedia for sharing this image - he gets the credit.

I posted recently about how I was able to go rock climbing for the first time, and how I really was belaying more than I was climbing. Belaying is basically holding he rope for the climber, so they don fall to their death.

Belaying taught me a few things…

You have to trust the person holding the rope.

The rope doesn’t hold itself and you can’t belay yourself. You have to have confidence in the person that you have below you. You shouldn't have your worst enemy or arch nemesis holding the rope - they can’t be trusted. You need to have someone that will do the job for you and make sure you don’t plummet to your death (a little exaggeration to prove a point).

This applies to those you are close to. They are the ones that willingly give you the advice, help, encouragement and focus that you need. They have to be people that love you, care for he direction you are going and want the best for you. They can’t be selfish - they must hold the rope for you.

The Lord is the obvious and only reliable example of who will always belay you correctly.

You have to care for the person you are holding up.

I’m not sure how many people I belayed that day, but it was a solid 2 hours and was likely 50 or more. They were mostly junior high (7th - 8th grade), and I’ve known most of them since they were very little, or when they were born. I’ve been involved in their lives in church programs and have a personal desire for them to succeed in their lives in every way. I have zero desire for them to fail.

They knew they could trust me. In fact, we had some older teens that belayed, and they were good at it, but several teens would not use them - they used me and the other two adults that attended. They knew we had their backs and wouldn't mess with them. They knew we would help them and encourage them up the walls.

The Lord loves us more than we can understand and He will always care for us.

You have to put others first, when you’re belaying.

I’ve written about counting others first before. It has to be a way of life, not just when you’re focused on belaying. When you belay, the rope action and movements, become muscle memory and you form a habit, but you have to do it right or the rope can slip. You can’t be chatting with a friend - you have to focus on the one climbing.

I know you have lots of folks around you that are climbing different pathways in their lives and need to know that someone has them as a first priority. You may not be able to help them all, but you could be the one that takes them to the next level, because you put them first.

The Lord always has you on His heart and He wants nothing but great things for you.

Lessons Learned: I need to belay more people in my life.

Thoughts: Are you belaying others? Do you have the rope help tight?

#failalot

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