When I was a Boy Scout many years ago, we went on a repelling trip not from Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo. Repelling down cliffs can be a lot of fun. As I prepared to repel down one of the cliffs we had chosen, the equipment became tangled in some brush. When I reached down to retrieve the stranded gear, I lost my footing and fell about thirty feet. It knocked me out cold. My sisters would tell you that the fall added to my already existing lack of mental well being, but what do they know? As it turned out, nothing was broken. The only thing wounded that day was my 13 year old pride. I am reminded today of the importance of solid footing.

A few weeks ago my long time mentor and friend Willard Tate passed away after a long battle with cancer. When I was a graduate student, I was his ministry intern. And then the ultimate encourager of ministers passed away suddenly last Saturday night. She was 92 years old. Over the course of her life she had lost two children and her husband, but her faith was steadfast. I never saw a hint that she felt sorry for herself. Her daily purpose in life was to encourage those around her, and she did it well.

Both of those individuals were rocks for me. They were solid people, whom I looked up to with great admiration. When the rocks are yanked away, you tend to lose some of your footing in life. In the past couple of weeks, I have felt like I was grabbing for some scrub brush to hang on to while I search for a solid place to put my feet. It occurs to me that such an experience is characteristic of the time of life I am in right now.

Several of the important rocks in my life have passed away in recent years. Former teachers, professors, and church leaders are all gone now. My immediate reaction to such events is: It is time for me to step up and be a rock for the younger ones around me! That is actually true. I am going to have to be the responsible one. Pretty scary thought actually… I was reminded this week of another important principle.

We will always need rocks in our life. It does not matter what age we are or where we are in life. We will always need rocks. When we are 92 years old, we will likely be leaning on someone much younger. We are not little, independent islands. If we don’t have solid rocks to stand on occasionally, we are going to fall down the cliff. I must confess that this revelation has triggered a penitent spirit for me.

A few years ago I used to get so frustrated with the old folks at church. Their very presence impeded anything that even smelled like progress. I failed to see that there were multiple rocks around me. I had an inability to recognize that they came together as a group to create a rock formation that all of us in my generation were standing on. Now many of them are no longer with us. I feel the loss in a very real way today.

I have no choice. It is time to step up the plate and be that rock for the generations below me. I was reminded of that fact just last week. The name of one of the new troopers assigned to my area is “Chase.” Gone are the days of working with “Herman” or “Fred.” They are all retired. When I get up in the morning, I will say to myself: Today I will be a rock…. And in the meantime, maybe the Lord will smile on me and send a rock or two my way.