“Things are never as bad as they seem
You just gotta learn to see
The forest for the trees” – Huey Lewis and the News
What has amazed me about the retreats and youth conferences I’ve been involved with is how quickly the kids see the big picture.
A favorite game is the beam. The goal is simple. Everyone has to get up and over a wooden beam positioned about 9 feet off the ground. Once a person is over the beam they cannot help lift anyone else. They still make sure everyone is safe by spotting but they are essentially “done the game”. It is important that everyone help each other for safety reasons. Most groups realize quickly the practical problems that must be solved. Leave some stronger people for the end. But the strongest person is usually the largest. So, the last person has to be agile enough to be able to leap and get over the beam.
When its all over they usually stand back, take a look at the beam, and say, “That wasn’t so bad. What’s next?”
Individual’s react differently. One young man couldn’t stop smiling for hours. I caught another girl sneaking looks to the beam whenever we walked past it. I sensed what both were thinking. Neither believed they could do it. They were ready to “bow out” and let the rest of the class have fun. I’m not sure if it was a fear of heights, fear of self – image, or a lack of trust in the way.
I can speak from experience. I’ve played the game with every class. But each time it is my turn I hesitantly step on some one’s knee, test my grip on another’s shoulder several times, and bounce up toward the beam. It is so much higher when you are standing beneath it. I’m not a large man, but standing below the beam I suddenly don’t trust their strength to get me up. What if I fall? What if they drop me?
Standing right next to the beam I lose sight of the bigger picture.
The bigger picture that there is a group – a strong group – stronger together than apart – ready to make sure I get over, safely, just like the person before me and the one after me. There’s an aspect of faith here. There must be a point to it all and everything we all struggle with. Doesn’t there have to be?
