         I could see Him…way up there on the peak of the high mountain. I wanted to go there, to climb the mountain to be with Him, but I didn’t know how.
It looked so difficult climbing those steep rocky hillsides and even before that, I would have to cross the river.
         I stood on the bank of the river looking up at that distant Figure longing to be there with Him, but how do I get there?
         There were so many obstacles between me and Him. I must first cross over the river of unbelief. Is there a boat here to make the passage easy? Must I swim alone across the many currents?
         I needed a bridge.
         Then I saw one farther down the river! It was a long walk to get there, but when I came closer I saw it was shaped like a cross. There was a path from the right and one from the left to enter onto the bridge. Which path should I take? The choice was mine. As I drew closer, I could see the two paths were not the same. One was smooth and wide and easy to walk on but it stopped just a few feet from the entrance the bridge. The other path was narrow and rocky and rough but it led straight onto the bridge. The smooth path would be easy to take but could I get over the gap between the end of the path and the beginning of the bridge?
         I looked again to the Figure on the mountain top and decided I didn’t want to take the chance of not being able to get onto the bridge. It would be worth the difficulty of the rocky path to know I could cross the river to the other side. I knew when I crossed the river of unbelief; I could climb to the top of the mountain.
         Oh, how naive I was! I didn’t yet know that it takes more than just belief to be with Him. There were huge boulders to climb over, there were deep crevasses to cross and steep cliffs to scale. It took a deep commitment from me to begin that steady upward path to struggle over the obstacles in my way. It meant giving up some of that heavy pride I had in order to climb over the boulders. It meant giving up the load of untruths I was carrying to be able to jump over the crevasses. It meant giving up the weight of all my worldly ideas to be able to scale the steep cliffs.
         As I drew closer to the top of the mountain my strong belief and my ability to focus on the goal made it possible to conquer it all. But as my spirit grew stronger, my body became weaker. I tried desperately to continue. I prayed for the strength to continue, but my answer was “wait.†I was almost there to be with Him, but no matter how much I wanted to keep going, His answer to my prayers was always “wait.†I had no choice but to obey Him. I waited patiently and then I felt my strength returning. I felt His encouragement, I felt His love. I could see Him there with open arms to help me through that last bit of steep climbing!
         I had left all my pride, my restricting ideas and my unbelief below me. I had learned to obey and wait for His guidance so that now I could stand beside Him on the mountain top. The goal I had achieved was worth all the struggles and hardships I had to endure to finally say I AM WITH JESUS!Â
         Can I make this my true story??