Learning the Ropes

My grandson, Benny, always seems to provide me with the best illustrations of biblical truths. This visit was no exception. On a trip to Stone Mountain God showed me again that the things He gives us to teach our children have a purpose and when we are obedient to do what He says, those words will ground them.
The very favorite thing that the boys will remember forever, from their Summer 2010 visit to Gami’s house is the ropes course at Stone Mountain. The thing I will remember is that my grandsons were 100 feet high in the air, (okay, maybe it was 40) and I was responsible for them if anything happened. My daughter in law had taken Reagan to see another show and I had volunteered to take Ben and JD to the “Sky Dive”. Oh my gosh! At the beginning, I couldn’t see them and that gave me time to look up and see what they were actually going to experience. I nearly died. All I could hear was the sound of my son’s voice saying, ‘Mom, what were you thinking!” I was so glad Kim was NOT there, because I was pretty sure it would precipitate Hannah Joy’s entrance into the world.
At any rate, finally they appeared and the man put on their harnesses. Those harnesses were VERY important. and the people putting them on looked really young and inexperienced. My insides were like a volcano beginning to erupt. But it was too late now. Anyway, as you probably have figured out, they made it through, but every step was agony for me. I kept looking at what was ahead and how high it was and how hard and I really gave in to my fear. The truth is, I made them stop before they got to the highest level. My excuse was that we needed to go and do something else. The TRUTH was I couldn’t take anymore. The funny thing about all of it is that Kim called to check on us and was okay with it. I mean, she had seen the course before we began and was very calm about it. Her comment was, “We didn’t have to sign a waiver so I figured it was okay”. I wish she had said that BEFORE I spent twenty minutes scared silly. I later realized that they had done a ropes course on vacation last year so she was not as intimidated as I was. I had never even seen one, and quite frankly, never hope to again!
Of course, they made it but the main thing they wanted to do before we left was to finish that last level. This time, I wisely offered to take Reagan to the Foam Zone (much easier on my heart) and Kim took the boys to the “ropes”. When I showed up later, Kim’s face was as white as mine had been. That thing looks really different when it’s your kids that are on it! Anyway, they made it and we made it and that was their favorite thing of the week. We decided that next year it was David’s turn to take them. After all, why should we have all the fun?

Afterwards, Benny and I were talking and I asked him what was the most scary part of the ropes. He immediately said, “nothing”. I asked him why and he looked at me and said, “I told myself “I think I can”. Well, this grandmother’s heart melted right there. A couple of days before, we had taken time for a family devotional. I read the story of “The Little Engine that Could” whose thought that kept him going was, "I think I can!"and then we talked about Philippians 4;13, “I can do all things through Christ who is my strength.” We had mentioned it a few times but I was totally blown away by my “soon to be 6” grandson. What I love most about this story is that God gave me exactly the phrase that combined a “story truth’ with a scriptural truth and it had connected. At the time, I thought JD had understood it more than Benny, but boy was I wrong! Benny “got” it and when he was faced with a pretty big obstacle, he didn’t even think twice; he thought he could and he did.
The ropes course consisted of four levels of continual obstacles. You would complete about a twenty foot obstacle, land on a platform, and look ahead and decide how you were going to complete the next part. Of course once you started there was no stopping. As I think back over that time, I realized that all I could do was watch. I had to trust that those harnesses would hold them if they slipped, and that if they slipped they wouldn’t fall. I had to trust that those ropes were strong enough to hold them if they did slip, and I had to trust that they would go forward carefully and with determination, which they did. Believe me, they were not going to stop the second time.
Truthfully, as parents, is that not what we are supposed to do anyway? At some point you have to trust that God has everything under control. You can’t stop them, or help them or protect them. Their path is their path. No matter how difficult it may look to you, God is with them, and He promises not to let them slip or fall. If they don’t go through the scary parts with Him, they’ll never figure out that He will take care of them. And if they don’t figure that out, they’ll never know what faith is.
In Proverbs it says, “The Word of their parent’s God shall lead them”. I believe at some point on their path, your child will turn to you and say, “Mom, Dad, remember when you told us “this”? I remembered it when things were really tough and it got me through.” Just like our Benny. He thought he could and he did. After all, isn’t that what our heavenly Father does with us? The difference is, He is with us the whole time. Everything we do, we do together, with Him. While I have to stand back and watch, He loves getting right into the thick of things. Obstacles don’t bother Him. He’s not worried in the least. In fact, He likes them, because they give us opportunities to trust Him more, and He gets to add a little “super” to our “natural”. In fact, sometimes He’s the one who gives us an encouraging shove off the platform before we think we’re ready. When we take that leap of faith, He’s already there to catch us. You think you can, He knows you can, together.

I have a little sign in my house that says, “Do one thing every day that scares you”. I’m taking time off from that until July! Believe me, I’ve earned it.