What’s Your Everest? Blind Descent Devotionalنموونە

Day 5: Be Still

On May 15, 2011 as the sun rose above the Himalayas, I made my final few steps to the summit of Mount Everest. I was completely alone, with nobody above 26,000 feet. Just me and the mountain. I made a radio call down to let others know I made it and then took some selfies, before getting a drink and snack. It was a lot to process in that moment; and I would say I’m still processing it to this day.

It took over a month to reach the summit, but I only had a short time to enjoy it before heading down. I checked my gear, took a few more looks around and then started my descent.

That’s when things went wrong.

A few yards into my descent everything went completely white. I went snowblind. Snowblindness is the sunburning of the cornea. I had a goggle malfunction the day prior, plus the exposure to the sun at altitude banking off the ice into my susceptible blue eyes. With snowblindess, everything is bright white and painful. I compare it to breaking potato chips and putting them in your eyelids. It’s horrible and I don’t recommend it. With snowblindness, your eyesight typically returns in 24 hours, but I wouldn’t regain my full eyesight for a month and a half. 

I remember vividly when it occurred. I dropped down and grabbed the rope I was attached to and assessed the situation. I was at the highest point in the world, I was alone and completely blind. And then I stood up and started moving, slowly and deliberately down the mountain. I learned in my military training as a US Navy Air Rescue Swimmer, that panic kills, so I did what I needed to do to force that panicky feeling out and focus on taking one more step forward. I knew that there was a 99.99% chance I wasn’t going to survive, but I never let that thought cross my mind. If I was going to die, I was going to die fighting.

The entire time I descended I felt a presence around me. I didn’t think too much about it, other than it was constantly there. It’s like if you have a friend in the room and you close your eyes, but you still know the other person is there. It was just a peaceful presence guiding me down the mountain.

My personal life verse is Psalm 46:10. Its powerful words have helped me survive some pretty intense situations. Not just extreme adventures, but the reminder to be still and trust in God has helped me get through times of sorrow, pain, and depression. It’s when I stop, be still, and trust in Him, I can truly hear His word and guidance. 

Discussion Questions:

Describe a time you became paralyzed by a situation. How did you get through it?

What does it mean to ‘be still’?