The Cliff That Wasn’t There

Faith is hard.

Why?

Because it’s hard to have faith in something you can’t see, touch, or prove. You might feel it in your heart… but your brain? Your brain has opinions.

And it will happily try to talk you out of the very thing your heart is nudging you toward.

Many years ago, my husband Ron and I took our two sons to Maine to visit family. One beautiful morning, my two brothers decided we should all climb a mountain.

Easy for them to say.

I was not in “mountain climbing” shape back then… but off we went anyway, despite my very vocal opinions on the matter. Ron stayed behind—his knees made that decision for him.

The climb itself wasn’t bad, and before I knew it, I was at the top.

Now here’s the part you need to know about me: I’m terrified of heights.

So I stayed safely tucked near the tree line, where I was absolutely certain I would not die that day.

My family, however, had zero fear and happily wandered out onto the rocks like a bunch of mountain goats.

I was absolutely convinced they were going to fall off the side of the mountain.

My brain didn’t just panic, it spiraled, and started to run worst-case scenarios on a loop.

From where I was standing, I couldn’t see beyond the first ledge. It looked like an infinity drop. In my mind, my children were standing at the edge of a cliff.

So naturally… I lost it.

And by “lost it,” I mean I started yelling like a full-blown lunatic for them to come back.

My brothers turned and looked at me like I had completely lost my mind. (They weren’t entirely wrong.)

To calm things down, my younger brother called my sons back. Then he made his way over to me and, very calmly, said:

“Kath, it’s safe. Come see for yourself.”

At that point, I was absolutely convinced a strong gust of wind was going to come out of nowhere and blow my children right off the mountain.

(In my defense… they were really young at the time.)

Faith.

Having faith in something you can’t see is hard.

I could feel sweat rolling down my forehead. My stomach was in one giant knot.

And then… that little voice, the one I call the little bird on my shoulder, nudged me forward.

So I took one shaky step.

Then another.

And another.

Until I realized something…

There was no cliff.

Instead, there was a wide, flat rock that wrapped around the mountain like a natural staircase. Completely safe. Completely solid.

And completely invisible from where I had been standing.

I’ll admit, I felt a little silly.

To their credit, my brothers didn’t laugh. No “I told you so.” Just a smile and a shake of the head, and we moved on.

So why am I telling you this?

Because this is what faith looks like.

If you’ve hit a wall in your life… business, relationships, anything … it might not be a wall at all.

It might just be your perspective.

Sometimes you’re standing at the tree line, convinced there’s nothing but a drop ahead. When in reality, there’s something solid waiting just a few steps forward.

But you can’t see it yet.

And that’s the moment faith is required.

What if you couldn’t fail?

What would you do differently?

What’s one step you’ve been avoiding?

Take that step.

Because chances are there’s a flat rock waiting for you just beyond what you can see.

And yes, you might fall sometimes.

I have, more times than I can count, if I’m being honest.

But falling isn’t the problem.

Staying down is.

So take a breath.

Trust that little nudge.

Take my hand and let’s take that step.

Let’s go find out what’s beyond your tree line.

Until next time,

Katharine