one step more

this past week i had the opportunity to go on a cruise on my family (more on that later). one of our shore excursions was a zip line in mexico at the las canadas campground. i have always wanted to go on a zip line and mexico felt like the perfect time to do it.

that initial jump is always the scariest, in my opinion. do you trust the wires, the harnesses, and the guides to catch you? but once you are soaring above the treeline, it's worth it. 

along the zip line/canopy tour, we had to cross 5 different kinds of rope bridges. and i'm not talking wimpy, playground ones. no, these are the ones that would put indiana jones to shame. none of our group had realized that they would be this scary.

imagine a long 2x6 board suspended over 100 feet in the air and only a two-inch thick cable holding you up from falling to your death. ok, maybe not death but definitely a really, really bad injury.

and we had to walk across that. 5 times. when i started out on this rope course, i didn't believe i would make it. at one point, fear paralyzed me. from the end, our tour guide kept saying "one more step! one more step!" my family also cheered me on, giving me added strength.

i made it across in one piece.

metaphorically speaking, we all have to cross rope bridges that might seize us with fear. lucky for us, there is always a voice (aka the spirit) that stays and encourages us to take "one more step" even when we think we are stuck forever. those around us also cheer us on.

elder holland's quote comes to mind:

"don’t you quit. you keep walking. you keep trying. there is help and happiness ahead. you keep your chin up. it will be all right in the end. trust god and believe in good things to come."

i can add my testimony to his that there is good to come. ya, taking one step forward can be really, really hard.

but the happiness ahead is worth it.