Keeping the Faith

What if there is a ladder? What if this ladder leads to one of two places? The ladder leads either to Heaven, whatever Heaven means for you, however you envision it. Or the ladder leads nowhere.

Would you choose to climb?

What if there are platforms every so often? What if, every time you reach a platform, someone stands guard at the edge and says, “Sorry, you’re not there yet.”

How long would you keep climbing?

What if it’s not always so simple? What if, every once in a while, a guardian greets you at the edge of a platform instead? What if the guardian says, “Hey, come on in. Let’s talk a while,” and you go in and the guardian is nice to you and gives you a cold drink and a good meal and you laugh and feel special. And, as you sit there, you realize just how far you’ve really come and how much you would love to rest. Then, suddenly, the guardian turns to you and says, “We don’t actually have any room for you right now. But thanks for coming by. Stop in any time. Have a safe climb.”

What if this happens often? Will it encourage you to keep climbing or will it feel like too many stops and starts?

In the past year and a half, I have been greeted on a lot of new platforms that I wasn’t sure I would ever reach. And some that I hadn’t even dreamed existed. But, so far, none of them have had room for me.

Sometimes it feels like none of them ever will. Sometimes it feels like the ladder really does lead nowhere and I’ll continue climbing forever to get to somewhere that I don’t actually want to be.

But that’s what faith is. Faith is knowing implicitly without facts or verification. It is trusting that the climb is worthwhile no matter where it ends.