Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Perspective

Back in September, Gary and I hiked at the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. We had an awesome time enjoying the beauty of God's creation and challenging ourselves with some difficult trails. You can see some normal pictures of Angels Landing at Zion here, but today I'd like to show you a different perspective. 

If you type "Angels Landing Zion" into Google maps, you'll get an image like the one above. The trail begins down at the bottom, right next to the river. It goes North and then turns and goes South until you reach the top of Angels Landing. 

It doesn't look too difficult, does it?

After we were home, Gary decided to look at the trail in satellite view.

All of a sudden we realized what an extreme trail we had been on.

It was scary enough the day we hiked it, but seeing the satellite images reminded us of just how narrow the trail was in places. Just how high the top of Angels Landing was. Just how crazy we were.

Maybe it's good that we didn't see these images before we hiked. We just put one foot in front of the other and kept going until we got to the top. 

We hung on tight to the chains along the trail and stopped once in a while to enjoy the view.

It's a little bit like that in our daily lives. We are all on a lifelong journey. We can't even see what the basic trail looks like, let alone the "satellite view" of God.

Our perspective is so limited.

We might be terrified if we saw all of the twists and turns, high mountains, and deep valleys ahead of us in life.

God's perspective is limitless.

He knows all of the ups and downs, the good times and bad times in our lives. He is with us on the journey.

We don't have to see the whole trail before us. We just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other and trust God until we get to the end.

Hang on tight to Him, but look around once in a while and enjoy the view.

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV)

Aren't you glad you can't see all that life has in store for you? How can focusing on God help you to keep moving forward, holding tight to Him and enjoying the journey?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on Facing Our Fear of Heights

Gary did something pretty amazing on Tuesday.

He hiked to the top of Angels Landing at Zion National Park even though he's afraid of heights.

We got to the park on Tuesday morning and parked "Clifford the Big Red Dog" amongst a sea of beautiful Corvettes.

Then we got on the Zion Shuttle bus and rode to the stop for Angels Landing. We had watched videos on YouTube, so we knew what to expect. Gary wasn't sure how far he'd be able to go, but he said he'd just take it a little at a time and see how it went. 

The sign at the beginning of the trail is daunting:

The beginning isn't too bad. Lots of long switchbacks in the sun. I huffed and puffed and Gary waited for me in the little patches of shade that seemed to come at just the right time.

Once we got through that section, there was a nice section that was fairly level and had lots of shade.

Then we came out into the sun again and climbed higher and higher. Here's a shot at the bottom of "Walter's Wiggles," a section of short switchbacks.

Here's Gary at the bottom.

And here's a shot looking back from near the top.

Once we got to the top, there was an area with lots of people lounging in patches of shade. It was time for one of the first decisions. Should we go on to the next section of the trail?

We watched people climbing the rocky surface and then grabbing a chain to help them as they climbed.

Gary decided to go for it and made his way up to the chain.

We challenged ourselves with the trail that included sections of reassuring chain and short sections without any chain. We had to scramble up and down rocks. Sometimes we had to wait while someone came down because the trail was basically single file most of the way.

 At the top it was wider, but tilted. We made our way out to the end.

Happy people took pictures and enjoyed the view.

We had someone take our picture at the top. We did it!

We enjoyed a snack and watched the bold chipmunks scurry around our feet and packs.

Now we just had to make our way down. I think that was almost scarier, because I saw more of the dropoffs, but Gary said it didn't bother him too much.

It took us four hours, but we had an amazing experience. I am so proud of Gary for not letting his fear of heights hold him back. He kept going in spite of his fears.

All of us can learn from this. We don't have to let our fears hold us back. If we push on in spite of our fears, we may be rewarded with something awesome. 

Now, we have to be smart about this. If we are terrified, we may need some help or some time before we're ready to face our fears. 

We were following two women toward the beginning of the chain section. One woman was coaching the other on how to climb the rocks or get down from a high spot. Her friend did fine for a while, but eventually she got to a spot where she could go no further. She was almost crying and they decided to turn around. She was so scared she couldn't even step away from the chain to let us get by. I had to reach around her and grab the chain. Gary had to let go for a few seconds while they went by.

Gary also said that he could handle his fear of heights on his own, but he was more scared if he was worried about someone else. At the beginning of the chain section I didn't hold on to the chain exactly (it was close, but I tried just holding on to the rock), but that freaked Gary out when I told him. 

He didn't want to have to worry about me falling to my death while he was facing his fear of heights. So I held on to the chain (gratefully).

Maybe you don't have a fear of heights, but something else scares you. Remember that it may be worth it to press on in spite of those fears. You just may experience something amazing! 

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

Is your fear of something holding you back? How can focusing on God help you to face those fears and press on?

Magnificent Monday: Let's Focus on No More Guilt (and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon)

I'm sorry I didn't post on Friday evening, but I had a very good excuse. I was on my way out west with Gary so we could hike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We didn't have internet access for several days...and so I did not post. 

We enjoyed hiking down from the North Rim and camping at Cottonwood Campground, then hiking back out today. It was grueling (as the Grand Canyon usually is) but beautiful.

As we hiked, I starting thinking about this blog. I felt guilty about not posting on Friday, but as I hiked I made a decision to never post another "Sorry Saturday," "Sad Sunday," etc. again.

Oh, I will probably post sometimes on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, but I'm going to try not to hold on to any guilt about that. After all, I didn't sign a contract that promised a Friday night post. I know my loyal readers might miss it, but they can wait a few days. They have other things to do until I get a post up here.

So from now on, if it isn't a "Focus Friday," it's going to be a "Super Saturday," "Superb Sunday," or "Magnificent Monday."

I'm realizing more and more that when I let my mind go in negative directions, it affects my satisfaction with life and, often, my mental health. Maybe you find that, too, even if you don't deal with depression or a similar disorder.

Can we let go of the guilt we feel for little mistakes and failures? Can we focus instead on the things we do right and the successes we enjoy?

Successes like hiking seven miles down and then seven miles back up the North Kaibab trail at the Grand Canyon.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our adventure the last couple of days and I'll see you again on Friday. 

There are more trees on the North Rim and they are just starting to turn. So pretty!

Here I am at one of the bridges on the trail.

You know me and my flowers (foreground)

Gary had the great idea of taking a pic of our shadows as we started hiking.

You can see a bridge at the bottom of this picture and how the trail loops around on the right side here.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind [the Focus Friday or something else I missed] and reaching out for the things that are ahead [next week's blog post or some other project], with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward [seven miles upward?] call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV - italics mine)

Do you have a hard time letting go of guilt? How can focusing on God help you to let it go and enjoy all of the good things He helps you to do and experience?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on the Grand Canyon - Going Up

This week I'm concluding my series on our trip to the Grand Canyon. We hiked down the South Kaibab Trail, took a day trip to Ribbon Falls, and finally hiked out on the Bright Angel Trail.

Here's a nice little bridge we crossed as we left Phantom Ranch and the Bright Angel Campground area:

We crossed the Colorado on the Silver Bridge:

Here's a shot looking back at the Silver Bridge after we were on the trail for a little while:

Along the river, there was lots of beach sand on the trail. It seemed strange when we were so far above the river.

Another shot of the beautiful Colorado:

I accidentally photobombed Gary's shot of this scenic view:

(Here it is without me)

 We thought about riding this up to the top but decided to leave it where we found it:

Switchbacks, switchbacks, so many switchbacks!

You have to lift your feet pretty high on parts of the trail. 

Gary took most of our pictures while he waited for me to catch up. I love this one he got with the sun shining on the trail. If you click and look close you can see a mule train in the center of the photo.

A nice little waterfall we passed. There were several spots where we had to cross running water. Luckily it wasn't deep or else there were stones to walk on.

Indian Garden was a great place to rest. We caught back up with Dani and Lisa, two new friends from Phantom Ranch that had passed us earlier that morning.

I took this one. I think I was already getting pretty tired as you can see from the funky camera angle.

Looking back at more switchbacks. I think we could see our friends back there. Gary thought it would be fun to yell back "You're almost there!" when we could see them once in a while. "Promise?" Dani called back hopefully after about the fourth time. We had no idea. "We don't know, just keep going!" I yelled down with a laugh.

Closer to the top it got colder and we started seeing snow on the trail. 

 Here's a cool tunnel a little closer to the rim. (But we still weren't there)

More snow and ice, but we didn't stop to put on our crampons. Our hiking poles and boots seemed to be enough to make the climb.

We made it and we're still smiling! What a hike!

We didn't wait around for Dani and Lisa to reach the top. I was kind of afraid they might push us back over the edge after we teased them about being almost done when they really weren't.

That was one of the neat parts of the hike out of the Canyon. Toward the top we kept meeting people coming down from the rim and they gave us hope that we would make it. We asked some how far it was and they told us how long they had been hiking and we could try to figure out how much longer we had. 

One couple went by and then the guy called back up to me, "Do you know there's a lizard on your backpack?" I started laughing as he realized it was fake almost immediately. "You just made my day!" I called to him. That was fun.

The last part of the hike up was brutal. I felt like I was using my hiking poles like crutches sometimes as I hauled myself over the rocks maintaining the trail. Back and forth through the switchbacks we went, wondering if we would ever reach the top.

Isn't that how life goes sometimes? We keep plodding along, tired and not sure we can make it. 

We just have to keep going. Stop and rest when you need to, but don't give up. Get encouragement from people who have been where you are going. 

Don't forget to enjoy the view. You will make it!

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31 NIV)

Do you ever feel like you are never going to get where you want to go in life? How can focusing on God help you to keep going and not give up, trusting that He will get you where He wants you to go?

Focus Friday: Let's Focus on the Grand Canyon - Looking Around

Last week I told you about hiking down the South Kaibab trail at the Grand Canyon.

After we reached the bottom and got settled in at Phantom Ranch, we decided to go for another little hike up Clear Creek trail to the "Stone Bench" overlooking Phantom Ranch.

It was only about 3 miles round trip, but the hike down was so painful. Both knees were bothering me, but I made it.

The next day we headed out on the North Kaibab trail with Ribbon Falls as our goal. We were told that there were four bridges that crossed the creek and then a fifth bridge closer to the falls.

Here's the first one:

At one point we saw a deer on the trail ahead of us. We moved slowly and got so close before it finally jumped down and moved along the creek below us.

Another bridge let us know we were on the right trail:

The scenery around us was so beautiful.

We saw a waterfall in the distance, but it was so small we thought it couldn't be the falls we were looking for.

(The falls are that little strip of white on the right side of this picture)

When we reached this sign we were tempted to shave a mile or so off our hike and cross the river instead of going to the bridge, but some guys at Phantom had warned us that the river was too high to cross safely right now. We trudged on...

The men had said something about going up and back down, but we were dismayed to see how far up we had to go. When we looked down and saw the bridge way below, we were tempted to turn around and go back. We had come this far, we decided to keep going.

It's so hard to show depth in pictures. This was a pretty scary descent over some slippery rocks (with protesting knees). So glad I had hiking poles to help steady myself.

The last bridge we crossed on the way to the falls. (I held onto the railings because the plywood didn't feel too strong!)

We ditched our backpacks behind a rock and traveled a little lighter the last twenty minutes or so. It was kind of exciting to walk along a narrow ledge on this big rock and then hop down a few feet to the ground on the other side.

We were glad we didn't have our packs as we ducked under tree branches and crossed a little stream.

I bet lots of people stop in the summer and take a swim in this nice pool, but it was a little too cold for us that day.

Around some more rocks and we finally saw it. Yes, it was that pitiful little waterfall we saw from the trail before, but we had been told that we could get up behind the falls if we kept going up and around.

A little more climbing and we were there:

The view was worth the hike. 

The ribbon of water fell into a big rock and then rushed over the side.

It continued to splash down the hill over the mossy rocks:

Some of the water fell and then continued directly down the face of the huge rock to the stream below:

We headed back to Phantom Ranch, tired but glad we had seen another part of the Canyon.

 

Don't we do that in life sometimes? We look ahead and think...that's it? We're going there? We feel let down because we thought the future would be bigger and better, more exciting. 

If we keep going, we often find that the future is even better than we expected. Not bigger, but more beautiful and satisfying than we had hoped. 

The journey may be more difficult than we expected and we may be tempted to take shortcuts, but even the ups and downs make the trip mean more somehow. 

When we finally arrive, we look around and we know that God is there. He's been with us every step of the way. 

"Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate." (Psalm 111:3-4 NIV)

Do you sometimes forget to look around and realize that God is with you and He is leading you where He wants you to go? How can focusing on God help you to see the beauty even in the difficult  and seemingly worthless times in your life?