Well, now I had done it. If I’d just manned up this I wouldn’t have made such a scene. Great, now the slow clap is starting. My knees are shaking…but you can’t just deny a slow clap.
We were at Hippie Hole in Rapid City, SD. This was last month and I still can’t stop thinking about it. It was terrifying and awesome all in one. Our sweet friend Megan took us to Hippie Hole {South Dakota’s favorite swimming hole} while we were visiting over Labor Day Weekend. It’s well off the beaten trail. A 20-minute off road drive off the trail to be exact. Then a 1/2 mile hike down into a canyon. But finally you arrive.
The day we went was perfect. Hot, sunny…the type of September day you take advantage of before summer runs out completely. Apparently we weren’t the only ones that thought a dip in the hole would feel good.
When we arrived there were about 30 others. Later I found out it was a group of the local college football players…no wonder they were all so beefy. Oh, and let’s not forget their pretty, college girlfriends. Whatever. I was there to swim.
But as I walked boldly up to the edge to take a peek before stripping down to my swim suit…I realized something. This is a hole. I felt like I was looking into some kind of abyss. “What the heck am I doing here?” I asked myself. I’d been psyched for this for days. But suddenly it didn’t seem like such a good idea. In fact, it seemed like a death trap.
My mind flashed back to last summer when Derek and I were at a water park. There was a deep pool with a “Cannon Ball” ledge 6 feet up. Fun, right? I got up there and froze. Little boys {and even a little girl} were complaining in line behind me. Finally a boy, probably 8, said, “Umm…can I go around you? I’ll be really fast.” Awkward. And it was happening all over again.
So I took my clothes off. One step closer to death.
Derek jumped in. I braced myself to be a widow at 25.
He was fine.
Now it was my turn. Megan took my camera and told me she’d snap a photo. I know Derek made it safe, I know all these other people had survived…but I was sure I would die. This seemed terrible. Heights are bad. There is a reason we have an instinct to fear heights. Heights kill people. This was high. And the only thing to break my fall was a pool of icy water.
Cold. Freezing cold water. Everyone admitted it was numbing cold. I hate the cold. {I hate it so much today when I came home from the gym I drank my brunch smoothie in the shower just to stay warm.} I wanted to stay put on those nice, warm, solid rocks.
But it was too late. Just like the Cannon Ball Ledge…I’d made a scene by hesitating. Now the football players and pretty girls were looking. It’s bad enough to cause a scene in front of lots of pretty people. It’s especially bad to do it practically naked. My abs and uteroll {that’s the pooch right under your belly button…a roll over your uterus…} can’t compete with Miss Hippie Hole USA with her Jillian Michael’s torso.
“Okay, on three.” Yeah, that’ll buy me time. Three seconds. Why do we do that? Give ourselves three seconds. I’m an idiot.
Needless to say, “three” came and went a couple times before the things escalated to the slow clap. And, as I said at the beginning…you can’t deny the slow clap.
While the clap was getting started Abercrombie Model #14 said, “You’re just psyching yourself out. Just do it. Jump to the left…you’ll miss the rocks.”
Miss the rocks?! The clap was getting faster. I had to make a move. So I did. I jumped. It was cold. So cold, it would have numbed any injuries I obtained on contact. But upon inspection underwater, as I pulled out my wedgie and triple checked to make sure my top was in place before surfacing…I found myself to be just fine.
And I’d do it all over again. But here’s what God showed me through this awesome and terribly awkward/scary experience:
- Sometimes the moments leading up to the unknown are uncomfortable…but if you power through you’ll find something exciting.
- Lots of people have faced the unexpected and survived. I will too. Even though it feels like I’ll die trying some days.
- Sometimes God will open up a path from here to there that is quicker than hiking all the way around. It may be scary to jump but you’ll end up in the right spot.
- Never underestimate the power of a cheering section. When you see someone frozen in fear in the face of the unknown…start a slow clap.
Amy
PS–you can see Derek in the photo above. He’s in the water on the left. The encouraging Abercrombie Model #14 is laying on the rock on the right.
