WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU HAVE A 35 FOOT ROPE?

Take a two inch thick length of rope, 35 feet long and stretch it out on the ground. Not too intimidating is it? For most people, it is about 12-13 steps.

Now take that length of rope and hang it from the ceiling of a warehouse. Stand at the bottom and look up. Is it just a bit more intimidating?

Next you’re told to climb to the top of that rope and ring the bell. Are you intimidated yet? I know I would have been at seven years old. And so I thought my daughter and the rest of her gymnastics class would be too.

One by one, each of the girls began their ascent, with most of them making it no farther than 12-15 feet up the rope. Then Lilli began her ascent, her eyes set on the bell at the top.

When you are faced with challenges in life, where do you focus? The end, or somewhere in the middle?

Lilli kept climbing halfway up the rope, farther than any of the other girls had gone. Surely she was going to stop and come back down. But she kept climbing.

When you are working through challenges in your life, do you find yourself stopping halfway there? Where you think everyone else would stop, or would be just enough. Or do you keep going?

There she was, 27 feet in the air, higher than my vantage point sitting in the second story parent waiting area, still focused on the bell at the top. No fear, just determination.

Now daddy is starting to get nervous. Look how high she is, no safety lines or net, just her and a rope. I wanted to yell out “Be careful!” But I did not want to distract her from her goal.

How often are you distracted by the calls or comments of others as you are working through a situation? Are you influenced by well intentioned but unaware individuals in your life?

Ring! She reached her goal! She looked over at me to see if I was watching and gave me a big smile. I was on my feet clapping with tears running down my cheeks. Was this the same little girl who was afraid of the big slide last year? I gave her two big thumbs up. I was so proud of my little girl.

Do you think God smiles when his child reaches the end of a goal?

What do you do when you have a 35 foot rope? You climb it! With your eyes focused on the bell and the smiling face of God at the other end.