From the Chaplains

Faith and the Elephant who untied himself

Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 

Last week I took my boys to the skate park. My 10-year-old came and asked for my help. He wanted to attempt a move that he has been wanting to do since he was six, but couldn’t. He tried again at seven, but was too scared and again at eight… He called to me saying, “Mumma, can you help give me the courage to try this?”  

It reminded me of a story I heard years ago, about an elephant and a rope. The story goes like this. Baby elephants, it seems, were traditionally trained by tying one of their front legs to a stake in the ground. It goes without saying that capturing and training baby elephants is horrible in and of itself… so hopefully this practice has long gone out of style.

Because the elephants are small, only a thin rope is required. They’ll struggle and pull at first, but eventually they realise that they can’t break the rope and they’ll give up. 

Elephants grow fast, of course. Before long, those cute babies are lumbering giants. But here’s the thing: that same thin rope is all that’s needed to keep them secured. They think the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free. In that moment a belief set in – he simply could not have faith in himself to be stronger than the cords that bound him. 

In life, all sorts of invisible mental ropes – flimsy and easily broken – may well be holding us back. We reach a conclusion at one time, then forget to revisit our decisions when things change, when we change. It results in missed opportunities and wasted potential. 

This story made me wonder about the ropes that I allow to hold me back, leaving my potential wasted. When have I stopped believing in myself, and is that doubt actually outdated? I notice my ropes when I hear myself saying, “I’m too young for that,” “I’m too scared of that,” “I tried that before but it didn’t work. That’s too hard.”  

I wonder what ropes I have actually outgrown? What are the challenges I need to re-visit? What are the dreams I need to bring into the daytime? What do I need to have faith in myself for? 

So, I reminded my son that he was now ten, he had grown, he knew the moves better, he was more co-ordinated, and if it didn’t work, he could always try again. To believe in himself. He did and he nailed it!  

May each of us learn the ropes that we have grown strong enough to break, that we may each fully expand into who we are. May we have the faith to believe, before we see. 

Cass Blake

College Chaplain