If you climb up, you can climb down (by the grace of God)
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If you climb up a tree you can climb down. This world needs men not boys.
When I was young boy, about 9 y/o, I climbed to the top of a really tall Florida pine tree. I was up there. Far above the ground. So proud of myself. If only the neighborhood kids could see me now. But no one knew I had climbed the tree.
Then it hit me, no one knew! How was I going to get down? Soaring probably 80 feet above the ground I just sat there for a bit contemplating my situation. I looked down and my knees began to shake. I waited. I waited. No one came.
After about an hour of sitting in the tree I realized the only way I was gonna get down was to get down. I said a little prayer and branch by branch I climbed down the exact same way I climbed up. When I finally got down I felt like I had conquered the world. My arms were a bit scrapped up but I felt like an absolute warrior who had just slayed a dragon.
Most boys like to climb things (sometimes girls do too). As a dad to five boys (and one girl) the lesson I teach my children is simple: do not put yourself in a situation that you cannot get out of. If you climb up a tree, you darn well better figure out how to get down. There will come a time when no one will be there to catch you.
Of course, to the extent possible, I try to be close by to catch my children if they fall.
But this world needs strong men not boys. As parents it takes discipline to know when to intervene and when to not. If an adult had been there to help me down, I never would have learned to figure it out myself. If you climb up, you can figure out how to climb down.
So, man up. Own your tree. And by the grace of God, solve your problems. I’m raising my boys to be men. More on that next time.
Fides et Ratio!
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