Welcome to my Never Quit Climbing blog

A practical, inspirational blog designed to encourage and give hope to people who are climbing mountains of rock and granite or ones life has put in their way.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

In Crisis We Need Others

I was walking by a very nice lakeside home in Austin the other day. It was several stories high, had a nicely landscaped yard and was surrounded by a professionally installed fence.

However, as I approached the home, one I'd never seen before, I quickly noticed several signs. "Keep Out," "Private Property," "No Parking," and "Our guard dog can reach this fence in 3 seconds. Can you?"  I immediately thought, "How welcoming!"  I later learned that the people who live there have lots of money and are bored with life. Too bad they don't know that inviting people into your life can be a great cure for boredom and lots of other things.

It's especially important to not shut others out when we're going through hard times. While there are those who climb alone they are emotionally at a disadvantage. There's something energizing, powerful and encouraging when we go through crises with someone else nearby.

Those people may be relatives, friends, coworkers or neighbors. We don't need to include everyone but we need to include someone.

How are these fellow climbers helpful?  First of all they provide perspective. While we don't need know-it-all or easy answer people around us, wise friends can help us see our blind spots or things we could be doing that would help us on our journey.

Second, they offer someone to talk to. Sometimes during a challenging time we just need to talk things through and have someone listen to our thoughts, pains and concerns. That alone can be uplifting.

Third, they can provide incentive and the encouragement to keep going. Runners regularly use people who help them keep their pace going. Fellow travelers on our journey can do the same. They can remind us that the top is in view or to stop and see the views along the route. They can be there when we're ready to quit and remind us that we must go on and why.

Finally, they can offer us spiritual help. Great friends who pray are worth a lot. They can also help us see the difference between true thoughts and untrue ones.  Jesus wisely said that the truth will set us free.

So, if you're on a particularly tough journey, climbing a high personal mountain, invite some people to climb with you. They may have climbed your journey before you or just be willing to go with you. Either is fine.  Just don't climb alone.

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