My husband and I had driven to the top of the falls and parked our car. We walked out onto the footbridge and looked over the edge. It was beautiful watching that entire powerful water cascade down, but somehow, we felt we were missing something. We had passed the path earlier that lead to a stairway. We went back and read the sign. "Difficulty - Strenuous 425 steps". I knew I wasn't in the greatest of shape, but I wanted to see the falls from the bottom up. Hubby and I decided to start down the stairs and if the journey was too difficult, I could always turn around and go back up. I already knew I wasn't going down the whole entire 425 steps, but just a closer look would be great.
Down we went, passing people going up who looked as if they were about to pass out. I wondered if I should turn back. We stopped several times on the way down, just admiring the beauty surrounding us and I decided that I had probably pushed things too far and I should turn around and head back up. Just then though, I looked and saw there were only 2 more flights of stairs and I would be at the bottom. What???? Well…I might as well go all the way down now. There was no turning back at this point. I continued down the last few steps, but was a bit nervous about the trip back up. After all, people who were much thinner and in better shape than I were not looking too good on the journey back up. When we got to the bottom, we discovered another path that lead to a parking lot. We groaned. It was the parking lot we were looking for earlier. If we had found that lot, we wouldn't have driven to the top and we wouldn't now have to climb the 425 steps back up to the top! Ugh! Hubby went on down to the footbridge to get some pictures of the waterfall. I paused and admired the beauty for a bit, but then decided that if I was to ever get back to the top of the stairs, I better get going.
I started up. Two flights. I was already breathing hard. Let’s see….my mind quickly calculated that the two flights equaled about 34 steps…minus 425 left 391 to go. Aaaugh! I knew I couldn't let my mind go there for too long…so I quit counting and just kept climbing. David eventually caught up with me. He had earlier offered to drive the car down to the lower parking lot so I wouldn't have to climb the stairs, but I have just enough stubbornness in me to resist being pampered too much. I wanted to prove I could do this and that it wouldn’t require Flight for Life bringing me back to the top! The more I climbed, the harder my breathing became, but I was determined to finish. David and I stopped for a breather. He was concerned about me, but I assured him I could finish. I told him he could go on and that I would be there—eventually. I asked him to yell when he got to the top to let me know how much further I had to go to get to the top. He started on and I got up from the bench, willing myself to keep going. Within a couple of minutes, he yelled down that he was at the top. I couldn't believe it! That meant it wasn't too much farther! With new exhilaration, my pace quickened a bit and before I knew it, I had climbed the last four flights in record time! When I got to the top, I yelled out, “I am woman! Hear me roar!” I was greeted with the most glorious looking bottle of water and cheers from my most avid fan! New exhilaration filled me. I had done it! This overweight, middle-aged, out-of-shape woman had climbed down and back up 850 steps! Woo hoo!
It occurred to me that God is often watching us climb through the obstacles in our life. We often can't see where we are going or what is in store for us, but he is at the top, cheering us on and encouraging us to keep going! There is a glorious bottle of water at the top, and cheers from God himself—if only we keep on, keep persevering and keep climbing---but let’s face it—it’s hard to keep going when you're stuck.Every time I stopped at a bench along the way to catch my breath, I found myself dreading the next two or three flights of stairs. I did want to quit, and I was so wishing for an easier way out. After all, why not put an elevator or escalator right next to the waterfall? Isn't that how our life is though? Don't we like to avoid anything that is too hard, too tough, or too painful? Don’t we often seek out the easier path, rather than the path filled with adversity? Yet, it’s often adversity that draws us closer to our God…and that is often the purpose.
I'm reminded of James 1:2-3 “Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” He is there with us. Have no doubt. Just keep climbing, climbing, climbing….all the way to the top!
"The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold." Psalm 46:7 (HCSB)
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