Who are you tied in with?

I love rock climbing. And although I am a little out of practice, I am looking forward to the weather getting warm again and going out with my gear and a few friends to climb some of the routes that are great around here.

One thing I learned a few years back: it is important to know who you are tied in with. For those who have gone climbing before, it is vital that you know who is holding the rope for you while you are suspended up in the air holding on by your finger tips and toes. You are hoping and praying that the person who has the rope is paying attention to every move you are making.

Who are you tied in with? Who is holding the rope in your life?

I was climbing with some friends once in North Bend off of exit 38. It was a warm Sunday afternoon. One friend started up his climb while the person who had him on belay (holding the rope) was watching. Something distracted the one who was holding the rope while the one who was climbing went to make a gutsy move...he missed the move and fell. The problem was the person holding the rope wasn't clued into the fact that he was about to fall, so he wasn't prepared to help.

The good thing is no one got hurt.

The bad thing is many of us are going through life and we are not really sure who we are tied in with, or who is holding the rope in our lives. We need people we can trust. People who are looking out for our best interest and wanting us to achieve greatness in life and finish the climb. We also need to be that person to someone else. We need to be holding the rope in our friends lives - watching them to ensure they make it safely.

If you don't know who it is that is holding the rope - that is a risk I would not encourage you to take. Find some people who you can trust, get tied in with them. It can make all the difference in the result!