I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. This was my first attempt at rock climbing, and I was terrified. I hadn\u2019t been keen on trying it, but my husband, Jim, was insistent. \u201cYou\u2019ll be surprised at how it will build your confidence for other things. It\u2019s quite safe, and besides, you might even like it!\u201d<\/p>\n
Swinging from the end of a rope off a cliff didn\u2019t sound like my idea of fun, but his persistence paid off. I stepped into the climbing harness and put on a hard hat. The belay rope, secured to the rock and the mountaineering instructor at the top, was clipped onto the harness. I knew I was safe, but I was still terrified. Reaching up, my fingers clamped onto the narrow ledge of cold stone. After climbing about thirty feet, I was ready to give it up and turn back.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t get discouraged!\u201d the instructor called down. \u201cIt\u2019s actually easier to keep going forward. Besides, I know you can do it.\u201d Finally, I crawled over the cliff top\u2014exhilarated, exhausted, amazed\u2014while my husband and kids cheered from below.<\/p>\n
Some months later, Jim was killed by a drunken driver in a head on collision. When the news came in the middle of the night, I felt as if I\u2019d been kicked in the stomach. But as I hung up the phone, my mind flashed back to that summer scene in Colorado.<\/p>\n
God, I\u2019m terrified, and I don\u2019t know the way up this mountain. But I know You\u2019re up there, and You have me \u201con belay.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. This was my first attempt at rock climbing, and I was terrified. I hadn\u2019t been keen on trying it, but my husband, Jim, was insistent. \u201cYou\u2019ll be surprised at how it will build your confidence for other things. It\u2019s quite safe, and besides, you might even like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":27039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[295],"tags":[292,285],"ppma_author":[1923],"class_list":["post-16693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loved-ones-devotions","tag-daily-guideposts-devotions","tag-devotions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n