All Things Are Possible

I did it again though I don’t know why. Julie surmised it is a lot like childbirth. I must have forgotten what it was really like and only remembered the thrill. She must be right. (see Women vs.Wild)

Hiking Half Dome and Climbing the Cables is meant to be taken seriously. There is a sign at the bottom of the rock warning the risky to take heed to the weather. In 2007, someone died curtailing the cables in interest of a speedier descent. A speedy descent they got. Yesterday, a woman was very much afraid during her climb and held the rest of us up, hanging on, while she took each treacherous step with caution mustering her courage. Someone didn’t bring enough water and I watched another hiker give him some from his own stash. We watched some slip-n-slide down the rock on what I call “tennie runners” that lack grip.

Julie and I trained. We planned. We did our research. We bought expensive shoes. We carried lightweight packs. Julie even had the mindset to bring her SpotTracker and I had the mindset of learning how to use its 911 call capacity. It was a feat not to be taken lightly. We were as equipped as possible to make this hike and climb that rock.

So it is with our spiritual life. Once God grabs hold of you, the adventure begins. The journey with Him is treacherous, too, however. It is not meant to be a life of ease and pleasure. Life isn't meant to be taken lightly. Going out on limbs, entering the unknown, becoming not what you think you ought to be but becoming what GOD planned for you to be. Dying to self so that Christ might live in you. That really is a great adventure. It requires effort. It requires training. It requires doing your homework, so that when the tough times come, you are not left hanging by a thread but are equipped to muster courage and strength to take the next perilous step. What it most requires is trust. Climbing the cables requires trusting that they will hold you. Walking with God requires trusting He will never let you go. There is pain involved. Julie’s knees can attest to that. There is determination required when you feel like one more mile is one more mile too many. Yet, when the road comes to an end, there is also jubilation.... knowing that God chose to do the impossible through you.

Matthew 19:26
Then Jesus said, "With God all things are possible."

I think I now know why I hiked Half Dome. So God could remind me that He is my Source of courage and strength, that He will never let me go and that through Him, all things are possible.

Zachary - The Boy Who Could Not Read

In the beginning there was a boy who could not read. His brother could read very large books with teeny tiny words in them. His sister could read small books with large letters and pictures of people and animals doing amazing things. But Zachary was a boy would could not read.

One day, while sitting in his room at bedtime, he picked up his Bible. He began to scroll down the page with his finger looking for any word he could read. Suddenly, it was there! Plain as day he could see the word “and” and he could sound it out, too. He saw the word “the” which makes no sense but he knew the word. When his momma walked in to pray with him that night, he announced that he had found 2 words in his Bible that he could read! He showed them to his momma and read them aloud. His momma told him that of all the books in the world, the Bible was the only one truly necessary to know. If he lived his whole life long and didn’t read any other book, he would have all he needed from that one very good book. “The Bible,” his momma said, is Holy. “It is set apart for us by God, just as you are set apart for God’s purposes.” Zachary felt proud. Zachary could read 2 words from the Bible. That was a good start.

As his brother got older, his brother began telling Zachary about all the wonderful stories in his very big books. As his sister got older, she began sounding out words Zachary would stumble over and she learned to spell things he couldn’t. Zachary knew he was not like his brother and sister. Things came harder for him, but he also knew he was set apart for God. Zachary was good at memorizing things. He was good at making up songs on the piano. He could make up rhymes. Zachary made his sister and brother laugh. He could negotiate disagreements. Zachary was the one who knew best how to tell a joke, sing a song and understand a heart. It was Zachary who knew how to work at something and do it nearly perfectly. Zachary understood what it was to try his best.

Then one day, Zachary decided he wanted to do something difficult. He decided to read a book. It was the biggest book they had in their house next to God’s Holy Book. The great big book was The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkein. He began. Word by word, line by line, and page by page Zachary, the boy who could not read, read that great big book.

By June 10, 2008, Zachary, who was 10, read the entire gigantic, enormous and wonderful fantasy epic novel by JRR Tolkein. Zachary was proud for he knew that no book was impossible. His momma was relieved for she knew that knowledge would now be at his disposal and God knew that every Word in his Holy Book would be read by Zachary some day. This was only the beginning.....

(......of what might be an editing career. Just as I was finishing this blog entry, Zachary, The Boy Who Could Not Read, read my article and informed me I needed to use more pronouns! I hope you will laugh along with me as I celebrate the very great accomplishment of a boy who is turning out to be The Boy Who Can Do ANYTHING!)