I saw a post on Facebook the other day with a quote that I
loved:
The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.
–Joseph Campbell
 |
| The cave you fear holds the treasure you seek. |
Now Campbell wasn’t a Christian (far from it), and I have
not read anything he wrote, except the quote above.
However, his quote rings true, not just in my mind; in my
heart as well. I know well the times God has whispered for me to take on a
challenge, and I’ve dug in my heels, fighting/begging Him to not make me do
that. I know I distract myself with “busy-ness” sometimes to keep from going to
the deep dark places in my life.
I don’t naturally trust other people there: there’s too much
risk. And I’ve learned, over time, how to be trustworthy & intentional when
navigating deep, dark places—my own & those which belong to others.
It takes practice, encouragement, support, and the
occasional dose of tough love. Men who have gone there with God can be His
hands & feet, my brothers along the way.
I learned how to be transparent on The Crucible Weekend. I saw
men who were emotionally adept, supportive without being sissies, strong but
not bullies. They set the bar high & led by example. All of them led by
example.
If you’re honest with yourself, you have at least one cave
to which Campbell refers. You could spend your whole life running from that
cave, swatting God’s hand away as He offers to walk with you in there, to heal
& transform you.
Maybe you have children, or a wife. What example do you want
to be for them/her? Do you want to avoid the work involved, deny it, ignore it? The
people closest to you know. No matter how well you hide, they know whether
you’ve taken the risk or not. You can tell an initiated man from all other men: there's a look in a man's eyes.
No matter how many more times they have to go back to that cave (or other
ones), they’ve at least done it once.
Don’t you owe it to yourself to have gone there, to show
you’re man enough to go to a place that scares you to death? Think of how the
rest of your life would look *after* facing the fear of that cave!
God is waiting to heal, grow, and teach you. There’s a group
of men out there, The Crucible Project, and they’re ready to equip you for that
adventure. You must do the work yourself; you do *not* have to do it alone. We
have gear for trips like this; you don’t have to make your own torch out of a
stick, tar, & cloth anymore.
