About a month before the beginning of the fall semester, my family and I headed up to Colorado to spend some time with my wife's family. Kelly's youngest brother and his family live in the Vail Valley, which I am convinced is one of the most beautiful places in the United States, if not the world. There are so many outdoor activities that the only question is what to do first. Since my three oldest children and I spent a lot of time at the Texas Tech climbing wall this spring and were excited to try our skills al fresco, we reserved one of our days for some rock climbing.

            Unfortunately, the spot outside of Minturn that we selected for our assault was relatively free of any solid handholds, and the cracks that might have provided some decent grip were full of thorns. Given the circumstances we decided that instead of climbing, the kids could learn to rappel. For those of you who have rappelled in the outdoors, you know it is an excellent opportunity to build trust and confidence and experience a great sense of accomplishment. But... it is also an occasion for fears to be exposed, hopes dashed, tears shed and knees scraped. The Percifields experienced the full gamut on our little excursion.

          Connor found that when it was his turn to edge out into the void it didn't seem like so much fun anymore. Holt's determined confidence to tackle the challenge and best his older brother failed when his little bottom hung over the emptiness. He contented himself the rest of the afternoon scrambling around on the rocks, drinking cold lemonade and genuinely encouraging his brother and sister. Lillian, though by no means carefree about the endeavor, made her way down beautifully and inspired her brother to give it another go.

            On Connor's second try he lost his balance right at the top and toppled sideways scraping his knee pretty badly. Hanging just over the edge I was sure he'd bail, scramble back up and call it a day. BUT HE DIDN'T! I assured him he did not have to continue but he replied determinedly, "No, Dad, I want to do it!" And he did. It was awesome.

Fears exposed... tears shed... knees scraped... yep.

Deepened trust, new-found confidence and a deep sense of accomplishment...       Oh yeah!

For anyone who has rappelled you know that there are a few keys to success.

1. You have to have a solid anchor you fully trust.
2. You have to have the right equipment and the knowledge to use it.
3. You have to hang your butt over the edge!

Without all three of these it will not work.

            The first and second devoid of the third result in a wholly theoretical exercise. The anchor may be set and the equipment locked in, but until you act in faith the affair is academic. In a rappel you must exercise your trust, and the beginning is the most difficult part. As you start over the edge, it is easy to stumble and lose your balance. But once you've gone far enough over that the rope comes in contact with the rock and begins to bear your full weight, things begin to smooth out magnificently. You can move around. Leap in great bounds if you like. Zip down quickly or ease your way slowly down.

            This experience illustrates well my first couple of years in campus ministry with RUF at Texas Tech. The training we receive follows along these same lines.

We are encouraged regularly to take care where we set our anchor. Only the depth and grace of the gospel is able to bear our full weight.

• God loves me...
• Jesus has redeemed me...
• The Holy Spirit is growing me.

And this isn't just true for me; it is true for my students as well.

            But selecting the right anchor is not the end of our task. We must be skilled in the equipment necessary to our charge. In RUF we call this our Philosophy of Ministry. The POM outlines what our purpose is, why it is what it is and how we go about living it out on the campus in a wise and skilled manner.

            And just like rappelling, RUF doesn't work without #3. Once #1 and #2 are in place, we are lovingly encouraged and given the freedom to venture out over the edge. And my experience in these first two years with RUF was not unlike Connor's first rappel.

Fears exposed... tears shed... knees scraped... me too.

But...

Deeper trust in my anchor...

            Greater knowledge and confidence in my equipment...

                        Profound sense of the height...

                                    Greater excitement for the challenge ahead... Absolutely!

I feel like going into this year the rope is in complete contact with the rock face and my full weight is on it and I am excited to see where things go from here.

P.S. For those of you who read my post at the beginning of last year, you may notice some similarities in my choice of examples, but rappelling is way more controlled and sensible than skydiving and I am settling in nicely : ).

If you are interested in more Percifield rappelling pics click here and scroll down to the  Percifield Rappelling Excursion album.