“If I fall, will you help me up?”
That is what my almost three year old Wesley said to me this morning as we walked our dog around the block.
Last week while we walked Chloe, I let him hold the leash by himself. At the end of the walk, she took off running after my middle child and yanked the leash so hard, it flung Wesley forward and he slammed the front of his face into the concrete. I heard the sound of his skull reverberating.
Crying, ice packs, pupil dilation checks, repeat.
He ended up being fine but it was clear – he’s not ready to hold the leash for this battle yet. Dad would need to help – whether Wesley liked that idea or not.
But what strikes me about today is that he wasn’t scared of falling again. He was scared of not being helped up. He was worried about how he would gather himself when the pain and tears of the future fall were too much. He wanted to know if dad would be there to help him up. I assured him, “Yes I will.”
The Planting Dog
I just wanted to leave you with you a little encouragement this morning as you press forward in planting new works and taking on ventures that are too strong for you. Two things come to mind.
1) Some missions are too strong for us. Period. They may seem totally manageable in the moment, but certain “yanks” of the leash are just overpowering for our maturity and development as planters. Are we even aware of this or do we see every opportunity as “of course I can do this?” This is why we need teams of wise counselors to help us discern the missions God is or isn’t calling us into.
2) It’s not about the fall. Its about the getting up. I felt God speak to me through Wesley this morning. Maybe I am more worried about who will help me when I do fall and slam my face against the concrete than I am about slamming my face. Its deep. But, honestly, I am more than willing to take a hard fall trying something I sense God asking me to do if I know I have a strong and comforting person/s that will help me gather myself. Who are our mentors that can handle the “leash”? Who are our mentors that can not only handle the leash but can be pastorally restoring when we fall (while I wouldn’t exclude moral failures here, I am more addressing inevitable missional failures or setbacks that come with difficult planting missions)? Not only do we need planting mentors, we need to press into God the Father this way and allow him to be the loving and strong comfort when we Fall. If we know He will help us when we fall, I believe we will take more risks. It’s not the fall I am are worried about, it’s the “who” will help me up if/when I fall. If you are a planting leader, how can you encourage your team this next week that you are here for them when they fall? How can you give them that trust you will be there when the leash gets “yanked”?
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