University Blog

11 Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the sunset.    - Exodus 17:11-12 

 

Real Talk - In the first 15 to 30 minutes of any backpacking trip or extensive hike, I want to quit. My body starts telling my brain “This isn’t going to work… why are we doing this… turn around now.”  

For a long time, I thought “beating this" meant getting strong enough that I wouldn’t feel that way. And while that certainly wouldn’t hurt, I’ve learned that beating this is actually wanting to quit and going on anyways. 

I have shared this with the group that I often go on these adventures with so they know that at some point I might need their help to not quit.  

Once I’m past that initial reaction of my body telling my brain “We don’t actually have to be doing this, let’s turn around” … I’m fine. And by fine, I mean it’s still hard and I still wish I was in better shape, but I no longer have a strong temptation to head back to the car or campsite.  

And I’ve never once regretted not quitting. 

I am so thankful that God puts people in my life that walk with me and help me not quit. Not just in hiking, but in all the hard, “I could just quit” moments of life, my community reminds me that I can do it, reminds me that I’m not alone, and, just as Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms, they show up in big and small ways to help me put one foot in front of the other when I need that. 

The Foundry, our ministry for young adults (ages 18-39ish) is starting off our 4th season of Community Nights on February 7th at 6:30pm. This gathering for young adults will meet every other Tuesday here at University for dinner and time together in community.  

A prayer from the beginning has been that this ministry of young adults would provide a place for each other to belong and that through our time together community would be formed so that no one is without that band of people to walk with, celebrate with, mourn with, and do the difficult parts of life with.  

 It can be hard work to find and build community, but it is so worth not quitting on the way. 

If you want to learn more about The Foundry and what we have planned for this Spring or are wondering if this might be a place where you might find people to do life with as a young adult, I’d be so happy to visit with you! 

See you around, 
Sarah Reiter

 
www.FoundrySATX.org 
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