Rock climbing

So today I did something amazing. I climbed an enormous cliff (ok it probably wasn't that high but it sure felt like it). And when I got to the top I got to see the world from an entirely new perspective. I could see beautiful mountains and rolling hills and miles of breath-taking forest.

Of course, getting to the top was no piece of cake. It took a number of breaks and quite a few pep talks from my instructors on the ground. They were always guiding me, telling me where to put my feet, where hold onto, which way to go. Of course there advice was only good if I followed it.

Towards the top of my second climb, which was a lot higher than my first climb, I reached a huge piece of rock sticking out from the rock face. To my right, where this Australian guy was climbing, I could see lots of hand holds, practically a ladder to the top of the rock. But my guides were admit, go to the left. Now to the left all I saw was the big ledge In my way. I had no idea how I would get around it. Each time I tried, I failed. But they persisted. Go around the ledge and up the left. After many many minutes of debate in which I did nothing but hang there I decided to trust the people on the ground who climb the rock every day and I went to the left. And anyone want to guess what was around that ledge? Well of course it was the perfect set of hand holds leading right to the top. And I made it.

Of course that wasn't my only obstacle on the trek upwards. Oh no, half way I reached a tough patch of completely smooth rock. The next place to place my foot left my knee above my ear. They told, "just go for it. 1, 2, 3 and up!" Of course, I mean come on! My knee is next to my ear and I'm not exactly in great shape here. Let's jus say, it was not that easy. I hung there, physically exhausted, staring at that completely smooth rock. 5 minutes pasted. Then 10 minutes. And I was still staring at the rock as if I could stare holes into its surface and climb my way up. Finally I hear, "Don't think, just do! Sing a song or something! Distract yourself. Then, do it!" Well of course I could think of nothing to sing. Until a really old church hymn, whose name I can't remember, if I ever knew it, popped into my head. The lyrics were about God's strengthen. So I prayed for strength, I stopped thinking, and I climbing, all the way to the top! Haha, wait that's not what happened!!! What really happened was I fell about 2 feet then heard a voice from below yell, "Good, now try again!" Yes folks that's right I prayed for strength, He gave it to me, but I still couldn't climb the rock. It wasn't magic, it didn't come with the skills of an expert rock climber. What it did come with though, was the knowledge that I had the strength to reach the top. All I had to do, was keep trying. It took me 2 more attempts to actually make it past that bit of rock.

I prayed for strength thinking that God's strength would help me climb a mountain. Well, it did, I certainly could not have done it on my own. But, God's strength did not give me skill. Maybe I should have prayed for the skills of am expert climber, although I doubt he would give me that. To become a good climber I would need to practice and work out all the time. I would have to stay in shape and condition my body. God gave me the strength to climb a mountain, but the skills and lessons on how to climb that mountain I had to learn the hard way, by experience. I learned not to use my knee by using it and waking up the next morning looking like I had been beaten up. I learned where on the rock I could put my feet by putting them there and seeing whether or not I fell. Suffice to say, I did a lot of dangling from the rope with two instructors on the ground shouting instruction and not letting me give up. (Literally won't let me, I would hang there for a while and they would say "you go up, reach the top, then you get to come down") so I did reach the top, twice. By my third climb I stopped half way for fear of not being able to walk when I came down. Of course, it's been two days and let me just say, ouch! Walking hurts, but it's nothing compared to riding on the airplane. One flight down and four to go in the next few day, hoping my body will not be as sore when I get on my really long flights tomorrow!


Brittany Crutcher
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