Don't Look Down!

I was thinking about this as I was falling asleep last night. I figured that if I still remembered it by morning, I would write about it, so here I am.

You know how when you're climbing up the side of a cliff and you're doing pretty well close to the ground and as you get higher, people tell you, "don't look down"? Because what happens when you look down? You get scared and you panic and you don't want to go any higher because you've seen how far you have to fall. Some people give up right there and just fall off the side of the cliff, right back to the beginning. Other people get stuck, frozen in place, not wanting to fall, but not wanting to climb either. Other people look down and say "cool, I can see my house from up here, look how far I've come" and continue climbing" (for the record, these people annoy me :) only because I wish I was like that more).
I've found that I've failed many times as I've climbed up the side of the cliff. Sometimes I don't even try, other times I don't get very high before I give up. A few times I've clung to the side, afraid to go further but not wanting to give up the ground I'd won. And once or twice, I've admired the view for a few moments and then I looked down, and I was struck with fear and I started to fall, again. It kind of makes me want to not try anymore. It makes me think that maybe climbing to the top just isn't for me, it's for those people that aren't afraid to fall. It doesn't mean that they won't fall, it just means that they aren't afraid. They're tireless in getting back up and climbing again. Oh to have that courage. That's what I pray for.