Month: July 2024

To Save or not to Save

I will never forget that experience, I was kidnapped and then taken to a location where I feared falling to my death. Don’t be too afraid for me, because the kidnapping involved whisking me away for an unforgettable girls’ trip. The kidnapping was pretty memorable, but the most memorable part was right here on this rock. But, let’s start at the beginning.

A trip was planned to celebrate my 60th birthday, I was told, but my husband had built me up to go away with him. When my daughter showed up, and informed me I would be driving, I was surprised but excited. It was to be an epic weekend with some of my favorite girls, daughters, sisters, nieces and my mom. They planned a wonderful mix of outdoor activities, indoor fun, shopping and a musical.

Gunlock State Park waterfalls was to be our hiking location on that fateful morning. For the first time in 8 years the falls were flowing, and we were excited to experience it. It was a bit of a tricky hike to reach this area, but the more adventurous of our group made our way in and carefully navigated the rocks and water. We were being a bit more cautious than we may have normally been because we had heard news of injuries and a death in this area due to the high water level. We enjoyed the pools of water and some rock jumping, from a height we felt confident would be safe, then we could not resist getting a group picture on this top of the world location.

As everyone made their way up, and got situated for the picture, I had the experience that I think of often. And each time I do, I get a chill thinking about what may have happened. As we arranged ourselves on this huge, sloping rock, I was near the edge that sloped down into a crevice. Across the crevice, there was another large sloping rocking, and between the two there was a huge drop. (I am on the far right here, looking toward the crevice.)

As I waited for everyone to be ready to take the picture, I heard a noise coming from the nearby rock, and then a slapping sound on our side, as well as a small grunt. I looked and realized, a man had jumped across the crevice to our side, and had not quite made the top of the slope. He was slipping, and it didn’t look like his grip would hold! My first instinct was to reach out and save him, I could not let this man plummet to his death! But then I thought better of it. I was a 60-year-old woman, on a sloping rock, with nothing to hold on to. Surely, if I grabbed him we would both plummet to our deaths. Fortunately, his grip held, and he was able to scamper up my side of the rock. I have never been more relieved.

As I have pondered this experience, I have wondered, was I wrong to have not helped the man? If he didn’t make it up the side of the rock, would I have felt some responsibility for his fall? In today’s world putting your own safety and well-being above all else is not a foreign concept. But for me, as a Christian and a firm believer in being there for others, this question had bothered my mind for five years. I have felt the correct decision was to keep myself safe, but what about it continued to feel not quite right?

A lot has happened for me, and the world really, in the last five years. And as this picture came up on my digital memories this year, and I relived the moment briefly, I realized I no longer question my decision. Over these past five years I have had multiple times now when people seem to be jumping across a deep crevice, and may be at risk for falling. These more recent rocks are metaphorical rocks, but the fall could have been, or was, as risky for them, as it was for the man at Gunlock State Park. While some of the people in my life took jumps that were risky, others who hung on or fell from a metaphorical rock, didn’t jump of their own accord. Often, many are at risk for a fall because they were pushed by others or events that brought them to the edge of the crevice, at no fault of their own. It was hard to watch this man, a complete stranger, struggle to get his grip at the edge of a crevice. It is even harder with friends, family members and those we love to watch than hang, slip and fall.

Over these past five years I have watched as many friends, family members, those in my church community fought those private battles right at the edge of the precipice, and some lost and just fell. And, I have wondered: Do I reach my hand out? When do I grab them and save them from the fall? Do I get a ladder or rope after someone has fallen, and climb down there and see if there is anything I can salvage? After living this scenario repeatedly, I now know. Yes, I can put my hand out, and yes, sometimes I can slow or prevent someone’s fall, but only after I am firmly planted and linked to that rock. We all sit perched on a rock that we have chosen as our base beliefs, the thing that keeps us grounded. If we are still finding our footing, still trying to find our place, as I was that day at Gunlock, and we reach out to assist those who are falling, we will surely fall along with them. If I grabbed for that man, not only may I have not been able to save him, but I may have prevented him from getting his own footing and righting himself. But had I been firmly bound to the rock, I may have been in a position to offer my help.

While everyone needs to determine their own rock and sure footing, mine is Jesus Christ and His church. I have found a sure foundation and footing through Jesus Christ and His gospel, I have found that when I bind myself to Him, through my devotion and covenants with Him, not only am I saving myself, but I can be available to help others. I can put out my hand, I can offer assistance, and I can even extend a rope or ladder to help people climb out of the hole. But, if I get off of that rock, and loosen my grip on my firm grounding, I am at risk for never returning again.