A Mountain of Fear

A Mountain of Fear here we were, hanging on the side of a moun- tain, suspended from a single piece of climb- éim ing gear. We were more than 500 feet off the Seountt climbing our first multipitch route, and we were in trouble. My husband, Justin, and I had been rock climbing for about two years, and our trip to Yosemite was the fulfillment of a dream for both of us. The guidebook said The Nutcracker would take two to three hours to climb.

We had already been on the route for about four to five hours, with the most difficult part of the climb still to come. On a multipitch route, you have to stop occasionally to establish what is known as a belay sta- tion, where you break down your equipment, set up your gear, and start the climbing process all over again. Given our inexperience with multipitch climbing, we neglected to factor in the extra time it would take us at each belay station. Then, to make matters worse, half- way through the climb the wind began blowing so hard that it was difficult to hear each other.

This forced us to slow down to avoid making a fatal mistake. After hours of climbing in the heat of summer, we a were hot, tired, frustrated, hungry, and dehydrated.

I felt waves of panic sweep over me, realizing that with one wrong move, we would plummet to the ground. My mind kept imagining what would happen if the single cam that was holding us broke loose. Thoughts of death flooded my mind. When my husband, who is usually very laid-back and calm, was obviously wor- ried, I knew the situation was serious.

At one point, I _ honestly didn’t think we were going to make it. I began to pray. God, help us! I’m so scared.

I don’t want to die like this. Please do something. We need You. I heard them before I could see their faces.

Their voices were barely audible over the roar of the wind, but the people climbing above us were asking Justin if we needed help. I remember thinking about Hebrews 13:2 and was convinced that our rescuers were angels in disguise. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. We were going to be okay.

Thank you, God, I prayed. Once we reached the summit, I sat in a daze for sev- eral minutes, just happy to be on solid ground. I didn’t even want to move. My whole body was still a little shaky from the whole ordeal.

It was the closest to death that I’d ever been. But, death was not God’s plan for us that day.

He sent those two climbers to help us—I have no doubt about that. He also taught me that when consumed with fear, I always have two choices.

One, I can allow my mind to tor- CHALLENGES ; Di ture me by replaying the fear over and over again until I’m paralyzed by it. Or two, I can throw myself at the Lord’s feet, confess my fear, and trust Him to give me victory. After our near-death experience, we didn’t have any desire to climb.

We loved the challenge and adventure of rock climbing. However, we’d encountered a little more adventure than we’d planned on.

Personally, I was more than ready to give up climbing for good. That’s when God spoke directly to my fear.

He reminded me that, as His child, I am destined to enjoy His perfect peace. He assured me that He could help me conquer any fear in my life by trusting completely in Him. The rock that sits on my computer desk today was taken from a multipitch climb we did only two days later. We knew that if we didn’t get back out there soon, we might never climb again.

After what we had endured, the idea of being hundreds of feet off the ground did not appeal to me at all. But I didn’t want fear to take control of this area of my life.

So, despite our hesitation, we forced ourselves to climb. We made it to the top without any problems, and the view was absolutely breathtaking! While walking down the mountain after the climb, I picked up the rock as a visual reminder of the powerful lesson God taught me on that trip.

He showed me that in order to experience freedom from anxiety, I must surrender the fear to Him and believe He will deliver me. 28 FOR THE LOVE OF GOD When anxious thoughts invade your mind, you, too, have a choice.

You can dwell on the fearful thoughts and make yourself a nervous wreck. Or you can choose to pray and ask the Lord for strength. Now, since every good life lesson encourages you to take immediate action, here is an opportunity to take your first step. Ask Him to show you any areas of fear in your life.

Tell Him that you will trust in Him and Him alone to give you victory. Then, sit back—and watch Him move your mountain of fear.