Finding My Footing: What I Learned Hiking Unsteady Rocks
By Jessica Brodie
Have you ever been on unstable ground and started to slip?
That was me recently as my husband, Matt, and I followed four close friends to the top of Rattlesnake Ridge northwest of Little Rock, Arkansas. We were there in Arkansas, five states away, for another good friend’s wedding, which had been an amazing, touching, and holy moment, plus a ton of fun. This next morning was our own anniversary, and we all decided to go hiking.
Rattlesnake Ridge is a rugged, rocky natural area in the eastern Ouachita Mountains, and the views are glorious. The summit sits almost a thousand feet above sea level, and the Sandstone Outcrop Barrens are home to a number of rare plants and animals. But I’d danced for hours on high heels the night before, and my aching feet weren’t exactly nimble that morning. At one point on our way to the summit, we were climbing over boulders and rocks. My hiking boots sought crevices and solid footing. We were doing fine until I stepped on a wobbly rock, and I lost my balance.
It could have been bad—we were on the side of a mountain, and one false move could have sent me tumbling down, bound for certain injury and possibly worse. But I quickly found my footing and grabbed a nearby tree branch for extra steadiness, and all was well. We made it to the top of the ridge, and it was worth it: miles after miles of autumn leaves, the vivid blue of Lake Maumelle, and softly rolling green and brown lushness as far as my eyes could see, What a way to spend our anniversary morning, there in God’s awesome creation with my love and our friends.
Sometimes in life, we also find ourselves on unstable ground, and we begin to slip. Maybe we’re in a health or financial crisis, or a rocky relationship has left us vulnerable and off-balance. We flounder, grasping for help—a more stable rock to plant our foot, or a sturdy branch to clasp and haul ourselves back up. Sometimes we regain our footing, but other times we fall.
It happens in our spiritual lives, too. We falter in faith, or begin to doubt whether it was, in fact, God’s voice we heard after all. We worry that long-held dream won’t come to fruition, or try to take matters into our own hands instead of trusting God to provide. God always does, but we imperfect humans get so impatient sometimes!
Life can be like that wobbly rock at times, and sometimes the stakes seem dire.
That’s when it helps to rein in our anxieties and doubts and remember the most important truth of all: God is sovereign and in command.
As Psalm 121:3-4 reminds us, “He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (NIV).
In Matthew 7, Jesus teaches that those who put their faith in God, who keep the Lord as their rock and their foundation, are able to remain steady in the storms of life. As Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Whether you’re scrambling up the side of a mountain to reach a breathtaking summit or facing a personal life crisis, remember: the world can be filled with danger and chaos, but in God, we are safe. Eternity awaits, and we are wrapped close in God’s warm, protective cloak.
In the words of Psalm 26:12, in God, “my feet stand on level ground; in the great congregation I will praise the Lord.”
Have you ever been in a scary situation and found yourself floundering and fearing a fall? Are you dealing with this now?
My prayer is that you—and I—will always remember we are safe in God. He brings us balance, love, steadiness, and security.
In God, all is well.
