“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt
By far one of my favorite quotes of all time, President Roosevelt articulates so well the goal of forging and the true nature of conquering. We do not conquer in the the victory, or by choosing to do something easy or something for which we have a natural aptitude; but it is in the struggle in difficult times, activities, and choices in the midst of failure that we forge the ability to conquer.
As I watched the Crossfit games this weekend where some of the most elite and physically conditioned humans dared to accomplish monstrous feats, failed over and over, got up, failed again, or destroyed the event with ease; I saw this quote personified. I love the culture of the games, where the victor will wait at the finish line encouraging the contender who has already failed the time cap to keep going, never quit, and finish.
This is what the forging trip and consequent Wheeler summit was all about. With our society pushing us 100 mph or asking us to sit and do nothing but entertain ourselves, pulling us in 1 million different directions; forging our minds, bodies, and souls seems like the least popular or easy choice. Yet our Seekers are challenged to do this every day, forging their ability to look at difficult situations head on, and through failure or victory, make ‘a’ choice none-the-less and push forward.
Whether it is Somiari having to come down off the mountain, only to come back and train that much harder for the next one, or learn to finally swim at 18 so he could tackle class IV rapids down a tumultuous river…
Or Maci having to make a choice of respecting her new coach’s request to not go on the conquering trip so she could do her absolute best in her college golf career, all the while still pushing her soul’s growth in meeting with Jashley…
Nathan creating a homemade altitude mask and doing cardio to prepare for the toughest hike of his young life, and continuing his devotional reading to improve his mind and soul…
Ian literally never accepting his current progress, always pushing his body to new limits with muscle ups, longer hand stand walks, or personal bests in mile runs…
Or Martyn constantly improving his mind as a junior in high school with light reading in autobiographical works about our founding physicists, while setting his own personal bests in push ups.
All of them “doing the deeds; (beginning) to know great enthusiasms,” and never settling. It does not matter whether their next challenge is the 14,000+ ft. mountain that now looms in front of them on the 2016 Conquering Trip, a great unknown that is college sports, or the everyday challenge of taking care of your family at 18 years of age. They have all learned the value, necessity, and life that comes from never backing down, always pushing forward, and forging their lifestyle into one of a conqueror; so that they will never be among those, “cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
The only question to be asked now, to be wrestled over, to be fought for is…
What are your great enthusiasms worth fighting for, forging for, and worth conquering in victory or defeat?
“The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” -Romans 13:12
“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” -Romans 12:1
