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January 26, 2023

Are You Willing To Ask For Help?

By Barry Rudesill

Okay, if you’ve been checking in on The Trek site, you noticed that we went down for over 24 hours this week. That, in and of itself, is frustrating to me. Even more so, though, is the fact that I can’t actually do anything to fix the problem!

A long, long time ago, I used to be a coder. I built websites for the YMCA, churches, and other groups that I worked with. I used all of the “best” programs, including: FrontPage, Dreamweaver, and even did some raw coding, as well. I KNEW what to do, how to fix the problem. In fact, since I wrote the code, it was easy to look for the mistake, since I made it!

Now, since I haven’t done much with the tools in a while, I’m left behind. I look at the code and, while I understand some of what I’m reading, the rest is like a foreign language. If I were to play with the code, I’m sure I could break my site in exciting new ways! (I change the database content to reflect the updates to the programs, but leave the main pages alone!)

Anyhow, when the site went down, I did what every great tech does: I rebooted the computer. Nothing. I logged in and read the error logs. Nothing. The computer HAD done some updates, but those had been about a week ago and the site continued to work afterward. I ran some of the automated repairs. Nothing. And then I hit the end of my tools.

And so I reached out to Pavel, the man who has been guiding us through the process of doing the updates and upgrades to the site. He was in the middle of another project, so it took him about a day to get to our issue. And that whole time I got to sit and wait, staring at an error on a screen…

Now, I didn’t NEED Pavel, right? I could have tried to repair the database with what I already know! (Who cares that what I know is at least three years out-of-date!) I could have rewritten the PHP code with what I already know! (Who cares that I learned PHP 3 and it’s on PHP 8!) I could have said, “I don’t need anyone’s help! I can do the work myself!”

Anyone care to guess what would happen?

There ARE times when we all need help. Times when what we know simply isn’t complete enough to solve the problem(s) in front of us. It’s NOT that we’re somehow flawed; it’s that we either can’t define the problem clearly or we simply don’t know of a solution to fix the problem we defined.

In those moments, we need to be willing to lay aside our pride, find someone we trust, and ask…

If I wait to ask for help, what do I gain? More problems, more hurt, more wasted opportunities. If I assume I can do it on my own, what do I gain? More chances to make mistakes, more times to make the problems bigger, more possibility of hurting ourselves or others.

Does it mean that the person you ask for help is going to have all of the answers? No. But, it’s been my experience that we’re always stronger when we have people around us to support us, to provide input and counsel, and to help pick us up again when we’ve fallen down.

Asking for help may be hard. Going it alone, though, is usually much more difficult…

Please know that we, at The Trek, are here for you. Also, please know that we sincerely hope you enjoy your journey!

- The Trek

January 26, 2023

Are You Willing To Ask For Help?

By Barry Rudesill

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