It's the climb...

Ryan and I went rock climbing this weekend, it was SO much fun! I have never been rock climbing before so although I knew I would obviously be scaling a wall I really had no idea what to expect. I even tried to wear jeans and a cute shirt and Ryan laughed at me and told me I would definately want to be wearing work-out clothes. Definately glad I listened to him even though I said I thought he was dramatizing the situation haha. I am not a fan of wearing work-out clothes in public so I was not too excited about this. Anyway, we headed to a place called Dynorock in Arlington, I have to say I almost didnt go inside it was inside an old creep wearhouse but I am so glad we did! After putting the harness on and getting a quick lesson we were set out to scale TONS of walls. It was scary at first just trying to find a good foot and hand hole but once I got started it was pretty easy to get to the top. Even though you have a harness and a rope around you it is still a little nerve-racking when you look down and imagine yourself falling onto the not so soft pads on the ground. It was also interesting how everyone starts at a different place and gets to the top in their own way and even their own direction. I tended to stay in the middle of the wall while ryan always seemed close to the right side. It definately takes ALOT of trust in your partner because if they dont hold the rope tight enough or aren't paying attention to what you are doing you could fall fast and hard! Ryan of course took good care of me but I was so freaked out when trying to come down the first time- you have to lean back, let go of the wall and hold on to the rope. We both lived and didnt have any disasters thank goodness! We had so much fun and I want to start rock climbing on a regular basis.

My efforts in rock climbing were so similar to what we face in life everyday. Whether you are working on your relationships, education or career you are on a climb to make things better, to get closer to the top. Sometimes you can't find a good foot-hold and you have to try a different direction, sometimes you bolt to the top without a problem and sometimes you might feel stuck to the ground with no where to go. Regardless of where you might be, in order to get to the top you have to start climbing and this takes a movement of faith. In rock climbing your faith is in your partner, the rope and yourself. You have to trust that the rope is strong enough to hold and that your partner isn't going to leave you... the truth is that these things aren't great things to put your faith in! People make mistakes, ropes break and you might even slip up! Thank goodness we have something so much stronger to trust in for our lives! God will never leave, break or slip up- and my favorite part, He is always there to catch us when we fall!

I am going to keep on rock climbing and working on my faith. God is doing great things in mine and Ryan's life and I truly believe He is working on our faith! Please keep us in your prayers as Ryan continues to search for a new job in the ministry. We are thankful for the job he does have, especially with so many lay-offs happening to people around us but his heart was made for something more. It is so hard to watch him go through this time of waiting, just feeling stuck to the ground but we know that God is going to tell us when it is time to start climbing and I have to tell you we are hoping it is soon! Until then, we will just wait- harnessed up and ready for His timing.