Onward and Upwards

Of all the situations that I found myself in while a cadet in Reserve Officer Training Corps, none were quite as unnerving as leaping from a perfectly good platform that was sixty feet above very hard North Carolina soil. I mean, there’s something to be said for having the sense to be a LITTLE dubious of the ability of a thin rope to keep you suspended long enough to slowly make a descent to terra firma.

Truth be told, I got the willies early and climbed down the ladder for the forty foot rappel (at which point I got found out by one of the sergeants who “talked” me back up to finish the rappel). Rappelling isn’t rocket science. You have a harness with a clip that is attached around your legs and across your waist. You get clipped onto the rappelling rope, and it’s only a matter of stepping backwards towards the ledge until just the toes of your boot are keeping you from falling down.

For those who do not suffer from a fear of heights, this is called fun.

For those of us who do, this is called inhumane.

At this point, you are supposed to loosen the rope a little in order to lower yourself so that your legs are parallel to the ground.

Once you’re in this position, it’s a simple matter of pushing off with your legs while releasing a little more rope and you’re on your way, bouncing down the wall.

Going down the forty foot rappel, weighted down by a full pack (which makes you go faster), apparently wasn’t good enough for our supervisors. A stone’s throw away from the forty foot tower was the sixty foot one. After a little discussion, the leaders moved us over to the base of the big tower.

This was going to be a little different. We were about to do helicopter rappels. It’s the same idea, except now you step onto a round pipe that simulates a helicopter skid that’s sixty feet above the ground.

I began climbing, but got tired and had to stop and rest half-way up.

“Who’s holding up the line!” bellowed up from below.

I gritted my teeth and resumed the climb. Higher and higher up the ladder. Finally, I broke through the top and clambered onto the wooden platform.

I would like to say that I stopped and took in the view while I was up there. That I appreciated the vantage point and took a few pictures to boot.

But I didn’t. I did not look out. I did not look down. I kept my eyes glued to the top of the platform.

High buildings have always given me the willies. I’m not sure why. I have no problems with airplanes, but put me atop something that is high AND connected to the ground and my head will start spinning.

When it was my turn to go down, it was surreal. I remember them clipping me on, then stepping down and away onto the simulated helicopter skid. I lowered myself like a robot, and kicked off into nothingness.

It was all downhill from there. Gravity did the work, I just made sure to keep my brake hand where it was supposed to be so I didn’t break something as I neared the ground. It was FUN for a grand total of ten seconds.

I felt good when I finally got down, like I had accomplished something (more like I had escaped from something). Would I ever put myself through that again?

Um, no.

What I find strange about the whole ordeal is I have a clearer memory of climbing the ladder than actually rappelling down.

Life seems like a climb at times, doesn’t it? A long ladder stretched out above us; it can really be intimidating.

And when you get tired? Sometimes all you can do is wrap your arms around a rung and hold on for dear life!

God acts in ways that often seem strange to us…but He is at work and can see the light at the end of our tunnels.

He’s cheering us onward and upwards.

Joe



Genesis 28:10-16
Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway.

At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, “I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions—to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What’s more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.”

Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”

John 1:43-51
The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown.

Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.”

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”

“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied.

As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.”

“How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked.

Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.”

Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!”

Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.”

Isaiah 55
“Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink— even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk— it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good?

Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food. “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David. See how I used him to display my power among the peoples. I made him a leader among the nations. You also will command nations you do not know, and peoples unknown to you will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious.”

Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the LORD’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.”

NLTse