“I’ve got you!” she said, again, “I’ve got you!” I still hear her words in my ears as they distilled their way into my heart and weary muscles. She tightly gripped my hands, holding me upright as I adjusted my feet and weight. My friend and beloved UU colleague, Nancy, was counterbalancing my body as we straddled two angled platforms sitting on a pivoting base. We were doing this while still covered in mud from the previous obstacle on our 5K Tough Mudder (you can google it).

Her confident words, “I’ve got you,” held me as much as her counterweight and physical strength. We tipped back and forth as we adjusted our weight and began to inch our way down, step over a gap, and continue our slow sidestep to the end. Each step threatened to tip the teeter-totter weight her way or mine; each step, we held on tight, confidence ebbing and flowing.

“I’ve got you” is a declarative statement as much as a prayer. It’s a response to life that we can choose to accept or refuse at our peril. The obstacle course of life requires a constant call and response to unknown and known challenges. I signed up for an obstacle course, in mud, with some of my colleagues, in full knowledge of the challenges, and yet, I was not fully prepared for what was required of me physically and emotionally.

“I’ve got you” was a reminder that sometimes we need to let others hold us and trust them to do so. Perhaps the biggest challenge of life is to learn, again and again, how much we need one another. Nancy was holding me so that I could get my footing and balance right. I was, in turn, holding her when her footing and balance needed adjusting. In a dance of constant adjustments, we choose to hold on tightly, with mud between our fingers, refusing to let go.

“I’ve got you” may be the three most powerful prayer words I’ve ever heard or offered.

In love and trust, I’ve got you! Rev. Kate

Connections

On Monday, 5/16/2022, Nancy Latimer’s son Robert and his wife Jen welcomed their daughter Kathleen Simpson “Simms” Clark. Nancy is thrilled to be a Grammy a second time this year as Simms joins her granddaughter Cece born in January.

If you have joys or sorrows you would like to share with the community; please send them to Rev. Kate at kwalker@first-unitarian-pgh.org