This week I was at the park with my kids — picnic blanket down, pizza out, and kids running wild when From the ropes section, I heard: “Dad! Can you help me up?”
My son had gotten stuck trying to reach the next platform. It was a BIG step up from the rope section and in the process he’d slipped and ended up straddling a single line of rope. Not comfortably.
I walked over stifling my laugh. “You’re trying to get up here?”
I grabbed him and set him on the upper platform. One motion. Nothing to it. But his reaction? Two arms up overhead. “Hooray! I did it!”
I just let out the chuckle. You did it? Whatever you say kiddo.
⚡️ F5 Fast Files - Short Summary
Caught myself pulling the exact same move this week.
The bigger the goal, the more people it takes.
“Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee.”
🧰 The House
Now that the house is both livable and presentable, we’ve had some folks over for dinner. Our friends who know the story walk in and say, “Wow, you built this?”
And I’ve caught myself answering, “Yeah. I built this.”
“Ok but what did you actually do?” “Well, I did the windows, the floors, the paint, the island…” On and on. “…and all of the landscape so far.”
Somewhere in the middle of listing it off I caught myself. Like, ‘Hooray, I did it.’
Did I? I had a big hand in it, sure, but Brennon was the GC who put in as many hours as I did, plus all the tradesmen in and out of that house for months. Not to mention that every night we were on our knees asking God for help with the timeline, the budget, and our own sanity.
🧗 Big Goals
The reality is that our living situation was on the ropes for a while there because we had our eyes on a BIG step up. I’ve written before about how I’m still learning to ask for help, but recently this quote has been coming to mind.
“The bigger the goal, the more people it takes to reach it.”
Building a house isn’t a one-man job, and neither is anything else worth building — a marriage, a business, a family, even your own body. They all require people! Maybe they come as participants, customers, employees, mentors, investors, accountability partners, etc. You need them.
I’m grateful for men like you, humbled at all the hands that have had my back this year. The fall retreat is that same idea, just in practice: fifty men spending three days getting re-centering and letting others in to lift with you. If your goal is big enough to need a boost, this is your invitation.
⚠️ Beware of Pride
My son’s “I did it” doesn’t bother me at all. It actually makes me laugh because I know exactly where it’s coming from. Pure innocence. A kid with no concept of what just happened, just pure joy that he made it to the top.
But imagine if it wasn’t my son. Imagine a grown man asking for help then turning to tell everyone how he did it himself. Not so innocent anymore. Feels closer to what I was doing with house guests, as if I hadn’t been spending 90% of my prayers all year asking for help… and often getting it in the form of good men.
Beware of pride. Scripture warns about it more than almost anything else. It can be easy to miss, sometimes pride isn’t a dramatic sin. It’s just... forgetting who lifted you.
🕊️ His Patience
When we forget, and inevitably take the credit ourselves, I wonder how often God just... lets it happen. Chuckling to Himself the way I chuckled at my son, knowing full well how little of it we actually did alone, but happy for our progress as new parts of playground open up for us.
I love seeing my boys learn to climb, it’s so thrilling for them to open up access to new portions of the playground. It just takes a boost sometimes, and the only question is if we’re willing to ask.
“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 18:3
But I also love seeing “The Boyz” learn to climb. I love hearing about your wins and the BIG steps up you’re taking. The way you’re putting yourself out there is amazing to be a part of!
Don’t stop building, working, showing up, and climbing. But don’t be afraid to let others in. If you’ve figured out some footholds, turn and lend a hand. That’s what we’re about here.
“Thee lift me, and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.” - Quaker Proverb
Justin
F5 Brotherhood
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