Climbing

The blessing of friendship has been a constant in my life since late 2008.  A person I loved a great deal had told me that I was not good with people, and that I did not have enough friends.  That was the catalyst for me to change the person I allowed others to see.  There were many good things to come out of that break-up.  And after work today, I reaped another benefit of answering the challenge to be kinder, warmer, to show people that I value them, and to make love a habit.

Last Fall I attended a conference in Macedonia.  While I was there I met around one-hundred people, a dozen or so I still have some contact with.  Dan Hillman helps his friend Jeff run a Christian indoor climbing gym called Rock Tirana.  After going there a few Saturday’s ago, I decided to invite the students from the college to take a field trip there with me.  I was pleased and surprised by the response.  Ten students put on their workout clothes, got on the bus in Sauk, and met me at the International Church to capitalize on an invitation to a new experience.  

After a slow start, with most of the people feeling either frightened of the height of the walls or self-conscious about how they might appear, the students really embraced the challenge and the fun of climbing.  Every person completed one route at the minimum with many going back time and again to try and complete a route which was especially challenging.  I think Nardi and Paridi tried an inverted V1 twelve times a piece.  Never showing signs of discouragement, neither was able to reach the top.  I have every admiration for this kind of heart and resilience in my friends.  

Although I could never have known in 2008 what God had planned for me in Albania; I am thankful for every broken moment of that time.  I have a great life now, a life I would not have chosen, a life I can not imagine being without.