A Rock & A Heart Place
May 26, 1953 - 1:00 p.m.
The brain surgeon and former president of the Oxford Mountaineering Club - Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon stood in icy snow-bound boots faced with a daunting decision.
Having gotten a late start and now oxygen-deprived Evans and Bourdillon attained the first summit bid of the British Mount Everest Expedition. The South Summit at 28,700 feet dawned the desired destination. The peak of Mount Everest stood in clear view just 330 feet ahead.
Exhaustion and labored breathing took its toll on their calculated decision. The formidable realization of possible death prevailed upon them. They turned back. Step by agonizing step they began their descent.
Three days later…
May 29, 1953 - 6:30 a.m.
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay set out to conquer the world’s tallest peak, as the British Mount Everest Expedition’s second summit bid.
They reached the South Summit at 9:00 a.m. This summit, where their comrades had turned back, was a place of significance. The world watched with great anticipation. They too were exhausted and oxygen-deprived, but the formidable possibility of failure drove them forward. Arduous steps and harsh elements made them all the more determined; They pressed on and achieved the final 330 feet above them.
At the early hour of 11:30 a.m. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first humans to ever crest Mount Everest successfully. Their fame spread even as they descended the mountain and were being held as heroes already.
Arguably - the only difference between the two attempts was failure and success. But in truth, the second attempt was made by men with greater experience. Hillary had attempted four times prior, and Tenzing was the most skilled sherpa in the area outdistancing his comrades by approximately 4,000 ft. The coupled skill and partnership of Hillary and Norgay secured their ability to endure.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV
“For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
Seasons for Every Reason
Galatians 6:9 ESV
“ And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
In other words - keep heart and press on. The hard place you find yourself in today is only a season and will be replaced with a harvest of blessings if you don’t give up.
You have probably heard the phrase…
“Between a rock and a hard place”
i.e.: A choice between two undesirable options.
But the spiritual issues we face come directly from “a heart place.” We commonly blame the season we are in or the circumstances around us for our hard places forgetting to examine our hearts and to lean upon The Rock.
Proverbs 4:23
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.”
Your hard place may be a matter of the heart.
“Both Tenzing and I thought that once we'd climbed the mountain,
it was unlikely anyone would ever make another attempt,
We couldn't have been more wrong."
- Sir Edmund Hillary
It may be a hard place, but it’s not impossible. Attempt a second time; press on - don’t give up. Change your perspective from hard to heart and crest the mountain of success.
Perhaps this season finds you between “A Rock and a Heart Place.”
Edited by: Cindy Adams
