Grandeur, glory, grit and grace

What else can I say to describe the experience  - those four words in the title sum it up pretty well.  We got to the Ayers Rock Resort mid-afternoon, set up and then dashed over to the National Park because we saw the sign said, “Open”.  That meant we could climb the rock if we went...now.

I know that some believe no one should climb Uluru for cultural or religious reasons. As Christians, we believe God created everything in this world and it belongs to him.  We are able to enjoy every tree, flower, rock, sunset, ocean, and the list goes on!

By the time we found the right spot, it was getting late in the day for this.  Some of the boys are mountain goats and they can get up most things pretty quickly - they weren’t the concern.  I am used to walking up a small mountain in Canberra but NOTHING prepared me for this!  There’s this short section where it gets a little steep but the chain to help would-be climbers is placed several metres higher than that...perhaps as a deterrent.  Well, I froze. I’d looked up and I’d looked down and neither way looked particularly appealing, actually; they both seemed frightening! Andrew came back and reminded me to keep my head down and just to scramble up till I got to the chain.

Even though fear is a powerful thing, so is the determination to achieve a goal and not be the one who misses out!  From that time onwards, regardless of how steep it got in sections, I was propelled onwards and upwards - gritting out the tough stages.  By God’s grace, it got a little easier as I got into the rhythm of the climb.

Adam was conquering his own fears - some of you may know how he struggles with heights.  Andrew helped him through some tough bits and stayed with him until the top.  The others?  They’re those mountain goats I was telling you about. Stevie was up first (nothing unusual there), Zac paced in nicely for second and I came next, followed by Mark (who had no fear and seemed perfectly at ease with the whole thing).

I was amazed by the view, reminded of the grandeur of the rock and gave glory to the one who made it.

and we got to see sunset on the way down!