I was two years out of college, and the click, click, click of my crutches reminded me of the temporary state of helplessness. All it took was one game, one turn over, one misstep, and one very loud “pop.” That was going to be the end of my not-so-illustrious pick-up basketball career. ACL torn, Crutches applied. Pure misery.
“I can do it on my own.” “Don’t help me up.” “Don’t get that door.” “I’ll be fine, just let me figure it out.”
Only I couldn’t. I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t open the door. I couldn’t carry things on my own. I just couldn’t do it alone.
I was used to doing it all myself, but all it took was a few times doing too much to find myself flat on my back, crutches in the air, and quickly I was reminded that I was going to have to let go.
I wish I could say that a lesson learned on crutches still acted as a compass for my life today, but here I am, still clicking along.
As a Student Pastor, I still find myself feeling the need to do it all on my own.
I’ll teach that. I can lead that. Let me organize that. I’ll decide that.
It’s really a need for control, a fear to let go, and a lack of trust that no one else can do it as well as me.
Foolish. Yes. Do I find myself flat on my back, exhausted, overwhelmed, and underperforming? Yes.
So it’s in those moments that I get up, I brush off the dust, and finally I look around with that humbled, sheepish look, and find that person to whom I can finally say, “I can’t do this on my own, will you help me?”
So may you find the people who can help. Find the ones who want to own it. Find the people who love to do the things you hate.
Discover the people who are better than you at things, and free them up to live the dream that they were created to live.
And may we all do a lot less clicking, and a lot more releasing.
As the Student Pastor at the Bellevue Campus, Zach Steiger is tasked with creating amazing student experiences, partnering with families to serve their students, recruiting and releasing amazing leaders, and helping to put Jesus on the level of every student! He spends his time hanging out at local schools, meeting with leaders at Starbucks, and developing relevant messages for students. Follow him on Twitter @zachsteiger.
