Daily Devotionals
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 (Paula)
Recently, my family and I traveled to southern Utah to do some hiking and canyoneering. My “little cousin” lives out near Zion National Park and just happens to be an expert at this sort of thing. He was eager to share his passion and show us around the playground of Zion as well as the special routes and adventures that tourists don’t normally get to see.
After a warm up hike our first day, we were all feeling pretty good about our adventure hiking the next morning.
My cousin said he had passes and a full day of “technical” hiking planned for us.
“Grab your gear in the garage, and meet me on the deck. We are going to practice rappelling.”
My group of fellow beloved flat landers looked at one another with bulging eyes and quietly and excitedly obeyed.
Not long after, I stepped into a contraption that fit like granny underwear made out of seatbelts. I was instructed to tightened it tight enough so that if I turned upside down, it would not come off…
Ummm…ok.
I tightened that sucker tighter than a corset around Harriet Olsen! IYKYK
Apparently, this is called a seat harness. (And little did I know at that time that this “practice” granny panty version of a seat harness was destined to be replaced by its “new and improved lighter model” for our actual hike later that day. The newer version was discovered to fit more like a thong - also made out of seatbelt. So that was fun.)
I digress. Back to the instruction on the deck…
What happened next was some beta about technical equipment. Apparently, there’s this really important piece of equipment that looked like a big fancy paper clip. (Aka carabineer) which attached to a “squirrel” which was another metal art project of some sort that you hitch your rope onto.
Okaaay.
Then, the most important piece of equipment… the rope! My expert cousin pulled it out and explained that the rope (the same diameter as my middle finger) would assuredly hold a half ton of weight.
Uh-huh. Sure.
I knew this sized rope could hold a piñata, but ME?!?!!
We all made it through our lessons of rappelling off the deck with success. We all repeated the routine multiple times. Now it was time to head out on our real canyoneering adventure!
We started on top of a mountain ridge. The first 5 miles were beautiful desert hiking between hundreds of Ponderosa Pines. Then we came to boulders and sandstone and limestone flat rock. After that it was time to rappel off our first ledge.
After donning my thong seatbelt and attaching my paper clip to the rope, it was time for action. My anchor was bombproof (as my cousin said) meaning it held the rope with utmost security.
Uh-huh.
He kept repeating, “trust the rope.”
After suiting up, it was my turn to go. With one hand on the rope in front of me and one on the rope behind me, I was told to “lean back against the rope and walk backward off the cliff.”
I didn’t trust the rope.
I didn’t WANT to trust the rope!
I did not have faith in my equipment.
Before I had moved much more than 8 inches, my arms were trembling. My instinct was to hold my weight with my arms so tightly that I wouldn’t need to trust my equipment… just my arms!! I was terrified and was running out of strength. Then I heard the voice of my expert cousin say, “lean back, you can trust the rope, Paula.” I knew I had to do SOMETHING, because my pure arm-pump exhaustion was quickly diminishing my will to live!
As I dangled there like a plucked turkey in a smokehouse, I contemplated my own foolishness! What the smoke am I doing right now??!!!
I slowly surrendered my grip and leaned back. I finally let the rope hold me. I proceeded to keep stepping backwards as I fed the rope through the paper clip thingy. The rest was easy. I was soon down and back on my feet. (I may have kissed the ground.)
Phew!
Exhilaration, yes! But also, there’s a lesson I learned here ladies!
The cliff is life and the rope is God.
We can try and trust our own strength in tough times (which will always fail) or we can lean back on the rope, believing that God will hold us.
He wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, and to obey.
Scripture says, “The righteous shall live by faith” Romans 1:17
Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reward of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
“We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Many of the things that God asks of us take us 180 degrees in the opposite direction of our natural inclinations. Therefore we need to trust His word and instruction to make it over the cliff! He is reliable.
Thanks for letting me share my silly story of fear with you!
Praise God for His strength! He is our bombproof anchor!
Make it a great day!
Paula
After a warm up hike our first day, we were all feeling pretty good about our adventure hiking the next morning.
My cousin said he had passes and a full day of “technical” hiking planned for us.
“Grab your gear in the garage, and meet me on the deck. We are going to practice rappelling.”
My group of fellow beloved flat landers looked at one another with bulging eyes and quietly and excitedly obeyed.
Not long after, I stepped into a contraption that fit like granny underwear made out of seatbelts. I was instructed to tightened it tight enough so that if I turned upside down, it would not come off…
Ummm…ok.
I tightened that sucker tighter than a corset around Harriet Olsen! IYKYK
Apparently, this is called a seat harness. (And little did I know at that time that this “practice” granny panty version of a seat harness was destined to be replaced by its “new and improved lighter model” for our actual hike later that day. The newer version was discovered to fit more like a thong - also made out of seatbelt. So that was fun.)
I digress. Back to the instruction on the deck…
What happened next was some beta about technical equipment. Apparently, there’s this really important piece of equipment that looked like a big fancy paper clip. (Aka carabineer) which attached to a “squirrel” which was another metal art project of some sort that you hitch your rope onto.
Okaaay.
Then, the most important piece of equipment… the rope! My expert cousin pulled it out and explained that the rope (the same diameter as my middle finger) would assuredly hold a half ton of weight.
Uh-huh. Sure.
I knew this sized rope could hold a piñata, but ME?!?!!
We all made it through our lessons of rappelling off the deck with success. We all repeated the routine multiple times. Now it was time to head out on our real canyoneering adventure!
We started on top of a mountain ridge. The first 5 miles were beautiful desert hiking between hundreds of Ponderosa Pines. Then we came to boulders and sandstone and limestone flat rock. After that it was time to rappel off our first ledge.
After donning my thong seatbelt and attaching my paper clip to the rope, it was time for action. My anchor was bombproof (as my cousin said) meaning it held the rope with utmost security.
Uh-huh.
He kept repeating, “trust the rope.”
After suiting up, it was my turn to go. With one hand on the rope in front of me and one on the rope behind me, I was told to “lean back against the rope and walk backward off the cliff.”
I didn’t trust the rope.
I didn’t WANT to trust the rope!
I did not have faith in my equipment.
Before I had moved much more than 8 inches, my arms were trembling. My instinct was to hold my weight with my arms so tightly that I wouldn’t need to trust my equipment… just my arms!! I was terrified and was running out of strength. Then I heard the voice of my expert cousin say, “lean back, you can trust the rope, Paula.” I knew I had to do SOMETHING, because my pure arm-pump exhaustion was quickly diminishing my will to live!
As I dangled there like a plucked turkey in a smokehouse, I contemplated my own foolishness! What the smoke am I doing right now??!!!
I slowly surrendered my grip and leaned back. I finally let the rope hold me. I proceeded to keep stepping backwards as I fed the rope through the paper clip thingy. The rest was easy. I was soon down and back on my feet. (I may have kissed the ground.)
Phew!
Exhilaration, yes! But also, there’s a lesson I learned here ladies!
The cliff is life and the rope is God.
We can try and trust our own strength in tough times (which will always fail) or we can lean back on the rope, believing that God will hold us.
He wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, and to obey.
Scripture says, “The righteous shall live by faith” Romans 1:17
Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is a reward of those who seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
“We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Many of the things that God asks of us take us 180 degrees in the opposite direction of our natural inclinations. Therefore we need to trust His word and instruction to make it over the cliff! He is reliable.
Thanks for letting me share my silly story of fear with you!
Praise God for His strength! He is our bombproof anchor!
Make it a great day!
Paula
