Gorge walking it through the tough times...

As usual it has been far too long since I have blogged!

This week I've been up in Nethybridge for Adventure Plus - a great action-packed activities Christian camp for teenagers run by the amazing team at Abernethy. My job has been to help speak in the evenings and its been a real priviledge to share the gospel with folks in a variety of ways.

However, as I'm not speaking every day I managed to get out on an activitity ... the gorge walk. I was here a couple of years ago and did it then too. I remember at the time, back before we went off, thinking about the gorge walking I'd done with school trips ... a nice little river, some trees to clamber over, but nothing too drastic. That's what I was imagining for this too.

How wrong could I have been! Heading down to the boat shed I'm issued with a helmet, wetsuit, wetsuit protector and a bouyancy aid. This was gonna be no walk in the park, easy adventure. When we got to the site and got in the water it was freezing! The water was gushing and climbing up rocks and through little bends and jumping off sections took so much effort and energy I honestly thought I wasn't gonna make it. But at the end ... wow ... what an amazing feeling ... I'd survived which really felt like a miracle!

Back to this year ... it was the best activity for me to go on 'cause it was only half a day, but this time I was prepared. This time I knew what to expect. This time I knew it would be tough so I stepped a little stronger and pulled myself up a little harder and jumped a little higher. This time I didn't just survive ... I had fun and enjoyed the adventure.

It struck me as we finished though and as we were preparing to speak on being healed and the cross and forgiveness and keeping going and all the other Christian stuff, that this is a lot like how it feels in life at times.

There are times when you've been coasting along or life seems as though its nice and settled, and then suddenly its a battle just to survive and keep on your feet with your head above the water. In those times it doesn't always feel like we'll make it, like we'll get through.

And yet somehow, some way, we do.

And when difficulties arise again, well we're a little more prepared for them than we were the last time ... and if we survived the last time perhaps its easier to believe we'll survive this time too.

I love (word used deliberately) the fact that as a Christian I know I am never facing things by myself but rather everything life throws at me is faced with God and in God's presence. He's promised never to leave me nor forsake me, no matter how tough life gets, and He's the One who gets me through. He's given me all I need and more. And each time life is tough, somehow its easier to face it ... because if God got me through last time and He's promised never to leave me, then He'll get me through this time too.

And even when it's tough, it's still the adventure of a lifetime. As the folks at Abernethy say "Live the dream!"