You Have to Hate It When You Run Out of Chain
Read the story first: You Have to Hate It When You Run Out of Chain.
Standard Operating Procedure
Before beginning, come together as a group to briefly discuss prayer needs and pray for God’s guidance, wisdom, and protection over this time.
Mission Preparation and Needed Components
Prepare the cardboard before beginning. Use a large piece, approximately four to five feet tall. On each side, about four to five inches in from the edge, cut handholds large enough for a firm grip and reinforce them with duct tape so they do not tear. If possible, add a simple support on the back to strengthen it so it will hold firm against impact without bending or slipping from the hands. Hold the cardboard high enough so the person walking makes contact with their upper body rather than their feet.
Use common sense. The goal is not to knock the person down or cause them to fall. Hold the cardboard firmly enough for them to feel the resistance, but be ready to give as needed. Talk together as a group before you begin so everyone understands the purpose of the exercise.
Mission
In a clear, open area of the room, choose one person to be blindfolded and have them stand at one end. Instruct them to walk forward at a steady, confident pace, trusting that nothing is in their way. The rest of the group should remain completely quiet, as silence is essential to the exercise. At an unexpected moment, two people will hold the prepared cardboard firmly in the path of the person walking. Without any warning or sound, allow the person to walk directly into the resistance. Once contact is made, stop the exercise and have them describe exactly what they felt in that moment, both physically and emotionally. Rotate through the group so others can experience the same situation.
Partner Exercise
Sit opposite each other with your partner. If you are comfortable, hold hands, close your eyes, and take a few quiet minutes to reflect. Go back to your childhood, between the ages of five and ten, and begin thinking about a story you will share. It does not have to match the story in this lesson. It can be something simple—walking into a door, struggling to open a drawer while helping with dishes, or any moment where you encountered resistance. If you cannot think of a moment like that, then choose any story from that age that stirred emotion in you.
As you sit quietly, focus on the story you are preparing to tell. Search your heart for something real, something that carries feeling. When you are ready, one person shares while the other listens without interrupting. The listener’s role is not to fix or respond, but to understand what the other person felt and why they felt that way. The story itself is not the point—the feeling is. When you begin to understand how and why someone feels the way they do, the differences between you start to matter less.
Questions
- Tell a story from your childhood, between the ages of 5 and 10, where something felt like a good idea at the time, but it didn’t end the way you expected.
- When you were young, were you the one who took risks, the one who followed, or the one who held back? Share a story that shows that.
- What did you learn growing up about danger, limits, or consequences—and who taught you that?
- Can you identify how those early experiences—danger, consequences, laughter, or fear—have carried forward into your life today? Can you see how one story like that may have helped shape your personality?