Unfolding Soul Prints

I took 20 high school and college students to Oklahoma Saturday for a day of hiking, rock climbing and rappelling. It was a perfect day. I'll have to confess that I didn't make it beyond the first tree that was sticking out of the side of the cliff. After spending several minutes in an intimate embrace with that tree, I decided that I had experienced all the rock climbing I wanted to experience for awhile. I spent the day watching the others. I watched them hang on and keep going even when they were exhausted. I saw them lose their footing and slip down the face of this stone wall of rock, losing the last several steps they had struggled to obtain. I saw their eyes widen with fear as the clung with their fingers and toes, trying to hang on. And they never quit. It didn't matter how tired they were, or how slowly they inched their way to the top, or even how frightened they were along they way. How did these young people find the courage to hang on and eventually reach the top? Well, some of it was the strength of youthfulness, but I think some succeeded because they were constantly being encouraged by people who knew them and loved them and believed in them. I kept hearing people say, "Hang on! Don't give up! You're almost there! I have the rope, I won't let you fall." I couldn't help but think of how many people I've been blessed to know, who have done the very same thing for me when I was hanging off the cliffs of life.