Can I Trust You?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6 NIV

Recently I had a new friend start to open up to me about some of the struggles of his past. With hesitation in his eyes he looked at me and said, “I don’t usually talk about this stuff; can I trust you?” The question caught me off guard. After a moment of careful contemplation, I responded, “Sure, you can trust me.” His question got me thinking. Am I a trustworthy person? Can I be trusted with others secrets? Can I trust others with my secrets?

Most of us at one time our another have had our trust betrayed, and have betrayed the trust of another. A careless word here or there can do incalculable damage to a relationship, and trust that has taken a lifetime to build can be destroyed in an instant. Trust can help a relationship to flourish, and mistrust can destroy even the best relationship.

On our adventure programs, trust is an absolute necessity. Climbing participants must literally trust their belayer with their lives. Paddling participants have to trust their partners as they work together to navigate rocks and waves. Participants must trust each other as they share intimate details of their lives around a campfire. Adventure programs teach us how to trust one another and how to trust ourselves. They take us far out of our comfort zone into unfamiliar territory where we must rely on others and not only ourselves. Ultimately, adventure programs have an incredible capacity to teach us how to trust our heavenly Father in all things. Through reaching beyond ourselves in the context of a nurturing community, we are given the opportunity to test God and see that He is faithful, to lean on Him and not simply our own understanding. May God find us a trustworthy people who compassionately hold one another up and willingly entrust each other our very lives.