Rock climbing and a smiley face…

This smiley face was near the top of a very difficult climbing wall.

Recently I was able to go to a rock climbing facility with a group of our teens. We had a blast. I had never been before, so it every aspect of it was interesting to me. 

I got to belay most of the time, which was actually much more fun than you may think. I’ll talk about that another day.

Today, I think about how life may be hard, but you can still smile…

Rock climbing is not known for being an easy thing. It’s challenging, even on the easy levels. 

You have to trust that the grip/rock, that you’re holding, won’t move.

This means you keep moving forward. You can’t focus on the title grip or rock that your holding. You have to focus on the next step, grip or the top. Rock climbing means rocks. It means they stick out, in your way, but you have to grab onto them and pull and push yourself up. You have to trust those little things to get to the next step. He Lord is always out grip and rock, as we climb through life.

Daily, you will have to trust the little things to get through, or you can sit still.

You have to work hard to make it to the top.

Contrary to what it looks like, on TV, rock climbing is challenging and tiring. You get started easy enough, but then along the way, things change and become more difficult. You get tired, as you climb. You lose your grip, as you climb. You get demotivated, as you climb. The top seems further away, as you climb. You have to work very hard to meet the challenge. God gives us the grace to make it.

Everyday brings tough challenges, but you have to work through them, or you can give up.

You can smile in the midst of the challenge.

The smiley face stickman was a reminder to me, to keep making it a great day, even when the day was hard. It was a reminder to make the choice to be satisfied and happy in the middle of a difficult time. It was a reminder to trust in the Lord’s joy as life threw a curve my way.

Smile in the difficult times, or you can cry.

You have to take a risk.

You can look down, if you like, but it won’t likely help you. You will just be reminded of the risk, that you are in the middle of taking. You still have to take that risk, to succeed in the challenge. You can sit at the bottom, and watch others, but taking the risk, means you have a chance for success...and sometimes failure too. God is in the middle of the risks that come our way and He will help you.

Risks have to be taken, to succeed, or you can take the easy route.

I purposefully put small challenges at the end of each of these thoughts, and I added the negative ways you can handle the tough times - it’s up to you.

Lessons Learned: Smiling during the tough things, in life, allow you to impact yourself and others around you.

Thoughts: Are you in the midst of a tough time? Are you smiling?

#failalot

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