When I was younger, I
hated monkey bars. I just did not have the upper body strength to swing across
the monkey bars with the same ease as my peers at the elementary school play
ground. I tried. Really - I did. I would climb up one end, put my two hands on
the first ring…hang for a couple of seconds, and then try to transfer my hands
to the next ring. It was difficult for me. My furthest success was hanging on
the second ring of the monkey bars before falling off.
"Life is like
monkey bars…you gotta let go to move on" (Matt Case). When I was younger, I would
clutch the ring too tightly and I was so convinced that I wasn't strong enough
to move forward. I couldn't trust myself to let go, and eventually I would let
go - but instead of letting go and moving forward, I would let go of the rings
and just give up. Maybe if I had kept pushing myself - I could have gained the
confidence to do better each time so eventually I can make it all the way to
the other side of the monkey bars.
Unfortunately, there
are too many people in this world in the middle of the monkey bars. They can't
move forward - there's a paralyzing fear that is preventing them from letting
go and climbing to the next ring. They don't have the faith to believe that they
can accomplish this.
But in order to move
forward, you have to be willing to let go - let go of the fears, the worries,
the regrets - so you can continue forward. Sometimes we need help on the monkey
bars. Children who don't have enough upper-body strength need a parent to boost
them up on their shoulders so they can finish climbing the monkey bars and have
a sense of accomplishment.
In life - who gives
you the boost so you can have extra hands guiding you on your journey? Is it an
encouraging friend? A supportive spouse? Loving family members? Maybe you think
you don't have anyone in your life who help you, but remember that when you
feel alone - God is always there. He is the invisible wind underneath your
wings that can help you soar above the monkey bars if you wanted to do so.
"You can't move
forward to the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading the last
one."
Re-reading the last
chapter in your life can become an unhealthy addiction without you realizing
it. Some people become obsessive about analysing everything that has ever
happened to them and wondering what went wrong, trying to decipher where the
breaking point was in relationships, or attempting to figure out the moment
where they gave up on their goals. Some people keep dwelling on the mistakes
they made - and they use these memories as a template for what their future
will be.
But mistakes are not a
template for your future - they can be lessons, experiences from which to gain
wisdom, and arrows on the broken road leading you to where you were meant to
be.
Life was not intended
to be spent in the past or afraid of the future - life is a forward-moving
journey. And if you must look back on the footsteps you left behind - look back
with nostalgia and wisdom.
So break out of your
emotional prison. Turn the page to the next chapter in your life. Hold hands
with hope and strength, and move on to the next ring in the monkey bars.
