Lean on me
Over the years, I have both observed and participated in a variety of team-building activities.
These exercises are designed to connect you and your coworkers, teammates, etc., to each other by building trust, camaraderie and reliance upon each other.
As connections are built, and believability in each other is fostered, a unity among the group can be achieved. The idea is that with this newfound trust, greater things among the team can be achieved. You learn that you can depend on each other to accomplish the task at hand.
At a youth camp that our oldest son is presently attending, I observed one of these teambuilding exercises occur.
On a v-shaped slack line, two students are required to stand on the end of each wire that is closest together. Each person is permitted to put the palms of their hands together with their teammate for balance, and is then asked to slowly make their way down the slackline.
Of course, the wires begin to get farther apart as the students make their way toward the other end of the ‘V’, making the activity more difficult with each step.
Eventually, there comes a point where the wires are so far apart, is it nearly impossible for the students to accomplish the task. However, this exercise is not just for these two students alone, but for the whole team they are a part of.
Along with the two students on the wires, there are teammates who are between them and behind them. These are their support. If one or both of the students loses their balance, there is someone to lean upon to regain their footing. If they can no longer keep progressing and fall, they have a spotter who will catch them.
Alone, it is nearly impossible for the two students to complete the task. With the team, it is still a difficult challenge, but there is backing to help them. At the very least, the team is there to support them if lose their balance or fall.
Of course, teams don’t always work so well. I recall a time when I was involved in a trust exercise where we were to fall backwards and allow a teammate to catch us. The object was that we could learn to fully depend on each other – even in situations where there was risk.
As you can imagine, there was always at least one in the crowd who would not catch you and allowed their poor teammate to crash to the ground.
There are no doubt many of you reading this today that have perhaps experienced both the support and disregard of those around you throughout your life.
It is truly a blessing when we have ‘spotters’ in our life who help us succeed; people that care about us and invest in us.
But I have discovered that even if we do have a great support team, there are some occasions or circumstances in life that are more like a fall to the ground than a success.
I have had experiences where no matter what I did or what my support team did, it was still rough.
I have realized that what I can’t do for myself in these situations Jesus can and will do.
The Bible shares that God numbers each hair on our head. He knows our name. We are valuable to Him.
Like a person on a slackline, you need to trust. Jesus has invited us to believe in Him; to trust Him. It is our choice; but Jesus will never abandon you if you lean on Him.