The Challenge

The Challenge

Hand in hand we walked along the path. Gently he helped me over some dangerous obstacles that hindered our progress. Once or twice I would have stumbled on the rough ground, or fallen into potholes or ditches along the way, injuring myself, but he was always there supporting me. When I got tired or felt like I couldn’t go on he always found some way to encourage me. We traveled along together until eventually we rounded a bend in the road and there, directly ahead, the path came to an abrupt end at the foot of a very high cliff.

We stopped at the bottom of this wall of rock, and I looked up. It was very high. Now where do we go from here? I wondered.

I think he must have read my thoughts because he said ‘Now we climb’.

‘You’ve got to be joking, I answered, ‘there’s no way I could possibly climb up there. Anyway I’m not too great with heights. Couldn’t we just go round it somehow?’

He looked at me kindly, but shook his head, ‘if you want to carry on this journey with me you need to make the climb. Haven’t I helped you along the path so far? Don’t be afraid, I will be right alongside you. Look, here are some foot and handholds in the rock, you can do it, I know you can’. He assured me.

I really had no choice I knew I had to climb, but I was so afraid. Inside me it felt like a major earthquake was taking place, but I trusted him, he had after all always been there for me. So with fear and trembling I began to climb. Once I got going it was not quite as bad as I had imagined, but it was still very difficult. At one point, about half way up, I glanced down, which made me feel dizzy and weak, my foot had slipped and I could hardly hold on, but just at that moment he had reached out and steadied me, the touch of his hand gave me the strength I needed to go on. At last we made it to the top, I lay on the grass above, waiting for the shaking in my limbs to subside. He sat beside me smiling, and I felt good.

‘Okay?’ he asked kindly.

‘Yes,’ I replied, ‘but I wouldn’t want to do that again in a hurry’.

‘Well if you are ready we will move on.’ he said, helping me to my feet. I stood up, and followed him through a lovely glade of trees.  I had been vaguely aware of a roaring, pounding noise ever since I had lain panting on the cliff top. I had put it down the blood rushing in my ears, and the pounding of my heart. Now as we walked through the trees it grew much louder and I saw ahead one of the biggest, wildest most tempestuous rivers I had ever seen. I seriously think that the most ardent white water rafter would have turned tail and run just at the sight of it.

He stood at the edge of the river, turned, took my hand, and smiling into my eyes he quietly announced, ‘Now we must cross the river,’

‘How?’ I asked, not really sure I wanted to hear his answer. I looked around hopefully for a bridge of some sort, or even a boat. There was nothing except the white frothing waters crashing against sharp rocks, then cascading in a roaring fury over the edge of a chasm into a boiling angry whirlpool below.

‘We swim’, he said.

‘Swim!’ I gasped ‘swim! Have you ever seen me swim! A couple of floundering strokes in a quiet pool and I think I’ve done well. Yet you expect me to swim over this raging river! There must be another way, surely.’

‘We swim’, he repeated. ‘Haven’t I looked after you well so far? All the way along the path then climbing the rock face, I didn’t let you fall, I will not fail you here, trust me, don’t be afraid, follow me.’  And with that he stepped into the foaming waters.

What could I do? I had to follow, if I had thought my insides were like an earthquake before, this time they were really off the Richter scale. Never had I been so afraid in my life, but I had to go on. Into those dark rushing waters, I had to trust him. I took a few steps into the swirling water. I felt the power of the current as it dragged my feet out from under me. The river picked me up; the white water was closing above my head, filling my lungs, and dragging me under. Suddenly I felt his strong arms closing around me, lifting my head above the water; I felt his strength as he carried me out of the murderous flood to the other side, breathing life back into me.

I lay wet and bedraggled on the riverbank greedily gulping in lung-fulls of air. He sat beside me, I thought for a moment he was laughing. He looked quite delighted. ‘You did very well,’ he said, ‘you faced the river and your fear.’

I looked into his loving face, I knew he would always be there for me; I knew I could trust him as we traveled together. He wouldn’t let me go. I felt that I could face almost anything now after the path, the cliff and the river.

We waited for a while in the sunshine while I dried off, and rested. We sat quietly by the river and talked.

By now it was getting late in the day, he decided it was time to move on. I enjoyed the way the sun filtered through the branches of the trees, and listening to the singing of the birds as they prepared to settle for the night. He walked ahead for a little, and then he paused. When I reached his side I found he was standing looking down into a valley far below us. Even from this height I realized it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, there was peacefulness, and a rich deep tranquility about it.

‘Is that where we are heading?’ I asked. He nodded, I could see a longing in his eyes as he looked at that place, and I realized that this was his home. It looked to be a long way down, a sheer steep drop.

‘Where is the path down?’ I asked. He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, and my heart sunk.

‘There is no path’, he said with a broad smile.

‘Then how do we get down there then?’ I really dreaded his answer.

‘We jump.’ He said quite simply.

Difficult paths I could handle, climbing sheer rock faces, crossing a ferocious river, we had done that, but jumping off an extremely high cliff that was something else.

‘Isn’t there another river to cross, or mountain to climb? Are you sure there is no path? I don’t mind how difficult the path is. There must be some other way down.’

He shook his head.

‘Oh I know, you have a parachute or hand glider or something hidden away ready for us,’ I suggested hopefully.

Again he shook his head, ‘Trust me,’ he said quietly, ‘do not be afraid. I have made this jump before, and see, I am here with you still. Hold my hand.’

There was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t go back across the river and down the cliff face on my own. I needed to be with him; this time my fear was beyond all description, a freezing ice in my veins. It was like a complete shaking and shattering of me. My hand was trembling violently as I reached out and clasped his strong hand. I looked down at the beautiful land below; I looked into his steady loving eyes.

He grinned and held my hand tightly, ‘On the count of three’ he said; as if we were about to burst into song, not plunge to our deaths.

‘One’ - I gripped his hand tightly  

‘Two’ - I closed my eyes and tears of terror run down my cheeks

‘Three’- The air rushed past, and caught away my scream.

Then from below me I heard the sound of mighty beating wings.