With Kate Hudson on an Alpine Adventure

The other night I came home from a late meeting and flipped through a few channels to see if there was anything of interest on TV. Suddenly, there was Kate Hudson alone in a cable car that had stopped halfway up the side of a mountain while a helicopter hovered overhead. Her exit? She had to go out the open door and down on a rope! So much for the fear of heights and dread of helicopters! I was hooked.

EXTREME CHALLENGES
Hiking with this MacGyver of the mountains, Bear Grylls (not Girly!) led her from one incredible feat to another in the Dolomites Mountains of northern Italy. They faced extreme dangers, climbed over waterfalls and rappelled over rocky cliffs. Being tied together, Kate spoke of the need to trust her guide even when filled with fear. She heroically pushed herself as they explored a dark passage through an abandoned mountain tunnel with headlamps.

At first it seemed she was more sure of herself. “I went to sailing camp,” she said sweetly. “I can do knots.” But gradually, all fortitude and self-knowledge were put to the test as the terrain and challenges increased. Many times she would resist and question him. “Seriously, this is insane,” or, “Wait a minute! I’m tied to you! What happens if you fall?” To which he would respond, “Don’t worry, I won’t.”  Gingerly, she followed, doing exactly what he said. “Follow my footprints in the snow,” or, “Don’t look down.” She was amazing!

WILD EXPERIENCES
For food, Bear twisted off the head of a pigeon and they roasted the meat over fire started by the gunpowder from a bullet they found in the tunnel. Another time, they tasted ants scavenged from a mound of dirt near their tent. Is there anything he wouldn’t attempt?

It all culminated with a sheer drop, straight down to a waiting craft loaded with supplies and a road out. As her fearless leader disappeared over the edge and descended out of earshot, she had to wait on that ledge for a tug of the rope to signal that he was on the ground. It must have felt interminably long before the rope tugged. Then, she took hold of the rope, hoping the tree would sustain her, and proceeded over the rocky edge. I wondered, how much grit and determination stem from the fact that she is a mother of two who desperately wanted to see her children again?

FINAL APPRAISAL

“Well done,” Grylls would say, cheering her on. He never wavered, remarkably capable, patiently instructing her every step of the way. When she finally reached bottom, the tears spilled over and she couldn’t speak.  It must have been overwhelming to realize what she had done and how far they had gone to make it to the ‘end of the road.’

MY GUIDE
I too, am on a journey that started 42 years ago the first time I read the Word, spoke to God, and heard his voice on the tundra of Alaska. And just like Kate, my guide has tested me in regard to all my fears. There were fears of running out of money and starving, of leaving the relative safety of American soil, learning an unwritten language, living in a cannibal tribe, facing countless episodes of malaria, separation from my children—and even the fear of never being able to walk again as I lay in a third world medical facility bed.

Do you feel unsteady at times? Don’t you wish God would give you the roadmap?

I’m here to tell you, the Lord Jesus has been a trustworthy and capable guide. He is the Bear Grylls of all time and there’s nothing he can’t do! His Holy Spirit instructs and protects me on the perilous places and counsels me to trust Him. Also known as the Comforter, he patiently walks beside us every step of the journey.

He knows the ropes. He knows the way. He will see you through!

My legs get wobbly at times, but the Lord has called me down this path. As I've left a secure paycheck to follow what the Lord is calling me to do, I am getting back into the unchartered territory. Now the question is, do I truly trust my guide? Am I going to follow in his footsteps and trust my weight on these ropes? 

This is a journey we must all take alone. Only you get to choose who you trust. But only you will reap the rewards of trying, so I urge you to do it. Don't turn back from the fears.

Psalm 16, a song of David, were certainly recorded in the midst of perilous circumstances. He penned these lines as though planting a stake in the ground, and they echo with visual concepts that could have accompanied Kate on her trek across the mountains.

“Keep me safe, O God, for you in you I take refuge…

Lord, you have assigned me my portion… and made my lot secure…

I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night…

I have set the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

My body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave…

You have made known to me the path of life;

You will fill me with joy in your presence,

With eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

I, too, want to hear that “Well done,” when I reach it to the end of my journey. Don’t you? If we’re going to make it, we need to go despite our fears and trust the One who leads us.