Chapter 14: Every Good Thing

Chapter 14:  Every Good Thing

"Warriors take chances. Like everyone else, they fear failing, but they refuse to

let fear control them." -Ancient Samurai saying

http://youtu.be/l1mMgPA0iJE

Although Danielle felt lost without a boyfriend for two whole months, she had been turning her attention to her spirituality.  She had started praying and reading her scriptures on a daily basis although she still lacked the courage to go back to church.  She had even changed the type of music she listened to.  She found that music held a lot of power for both good and evil.  She felt depressed, inadequate, and materialistic when she listened to America’s Top Forty, but when she listened to the Christian Music station K-Love, she found that she focused on herself less and others more.  She liked the way the softer music made her spirit feel and the lyrics of the songs made her ponder the meaning of life throughout the day.  Other than working out daily at the club, Danielle was busy working at the restaurant trying to save enough money for college.  After Anton had broken up with her, she had contacted the University and asked them to refund the money back to him which they had done in a timely fashion.  Danielle was still far away from her financial goals but knew that somehow God would provide.  She felt that something big was about to happen but she had no idea that today would be the day.

Danielle rolled over to turn off her radio alarm but decided to just lie in bed and listen to the song playing instead.  She looked out the slats of her blinds to an overcast sky and enjoyed watching the sun peek through the clouds.  She was confused about the day ahead but was excited to spend time with Caleb outside the club, even if he did have a steady girlfriend.  Oh well.  She was also excited about going over to her grandparents house for dinner.  They said they had somebody they wanted her to meet.  She laid her curly brown hair back on the pillow and closed her eyes as she sang along to the Afters singing Every Good Thing:

“You're the reason for every good thing, every heartbeat
Every day we get to breathe
You're the reason for anything that lasts, every second chance
Every laugh, life is so sweet
You're the reason for every good thing, every good thing…”

She finished the song and couldn’t help but have a bounce in her step as she prepared herself for the day.  She threw on her favorite t-shirt and shorts and then stared at her vast assortment of shoes.  Hmm, she thought…flats or sandals.  Yes, definitely sandals to look more sporty.  She was frustrated that Caleb wanted to meet at the club parking lot instead of picking her up at her house but she went along with the plan. 

She heard the crunch of gravel under her tires as she pulled into the parking lot.  She spotted Caleb parked outside the gym in his blue Chevy pickup truck.  He seemed genuinely excited to see Danielle and he even got out of the truck and opened the heavy truck door for her.  For a split second, she thought she might actually have a chance with this ultra athletic, drop dead gorgeous guy sitting beside her in the cab of the truck.  She hoped that a lot of people would be at the Falls today so she would have the satisfaction of being seen with a hunk by her side.  Yes, unfortunately she was still insecure and needing validation through a boyfriend despite the huge spiritual strides she had made in her life. 

As they started the half hour drive up the mouth of the canyon, they saw Nick Weldon and his wife on a power walk.  Danielle had been so impressed with how serious Nick had taken the doctor’s orders to change his lifestyle.  Nick was losing weight quickly but he also just had a healthier look about him since he went to an almost all vegan diet.  Danielle had overheard him talking to Lucy after a Zumba class one day when she asked him about how things were going and what kept him so motivated.  He said the way he was able to have such a drastic change in his healthy lifestyle, was simply because he loved his wife so much.  He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize leaving her here alone to finish off her earthy existence without him by her side.  As Nick had gotten healthier, his marriage had gotten stronger.  Danielle waved at Nick and his wife and wondered if anyone would ever feel that way about her.  She looked over at Caleb who was making air guitar sounds to the tunes playing on the radio. 

People do really dumb things when they are trying to impress the opposite sex.  The sad thing was Danielle didn’t realize she didn’t have to do anything to impress Caleb because he really was clueless and didn’t care anyway.  Nevertheless, Danielle tried her hardest to make herself look better and had promised herself that no matter what, she would go with the flow.  As the truck pulled to a stop at the bottom of the hiking trail that led to the falls, Danielle was delighted to see the line to the gondola up to the top of the mountain in full swing.  She had been up that gondola many times to go to dances that were hosted at the top of the mountain in the lodge.  She was terrified of heights but the trip up was always worth it.  Anything to dance, she always told herself.  Today, she was happy that Caleb just wanted to stick to the trail rather than wait in line at the bottom of the mountain.

As she got out of the high truck, she was careful not to fall out in a clumsy manner.  Unfortunately, once she got out, she didn’t pay as much attention to her technique in shutting the heavy truck passenger side door.  She swung the door with all her might but wasn’t fast enough to get her knee out of the way.  The door crushed her knee and Danielle had to use every ounce of energy not to lose it.  She bit her lip and moaned. 

“Whoa there, girl.  You alright?”

“Ummm, sure.  I have another knee right?” she laughed embarrassedly.  The pain was throbbing through her leg but she didn’t want to let on that anything was wrong to Caleb so she tried hard not to limp as they proceeded to the trail head.  “Just shake it off,” she thought to herself.  Nothing was going to ruin her “date” with Caleb.  Danielle was determined to make Caleb have so much fun that he would question his hot girlfriend away at work.  No, she would have to keep it platonic.  Maybe that could be fun too?

They hadn’t been on the paved trail long before Caleb got a spark of adventure in his eye.  He said, “Do you know what I’ve always wanted to do?” 

“No, what?”

“Haven’t you ever wanted to get off the trail and just hike to the lodge the old fashioned way?”

Danielle was surprised to find herself saying, “Yeah, me too”.  The minute they stepped off the path, she knew that it was probably not the smartest thing she had ever done.  She tripped on a log and found herself lying face down in the dirt.  “I’m ok,” she called out.  “Maybe I should stay a little closer to you,” Caleb replied as he put out his hand to help her up.  Danielle held tightly to Caleb’s hand as they made their way through the heavily forested area.  It’s not my fault, his girlfriend chose to work today…she rationalized to herself.  Danielle and Caleb fell into easy conversation and were soon laughing so hard they were losing track of where they were.  The terrain was getting rockier and much steeper as they were lost in conversation.  Danielle’s knee throbbed a little but it was her hand that started bothering her.  Her free hand, not holding onto Caleb’s, was itching like crazy and as she looked down she noticed it was turning red.  They stopped at a stream and Danielle decided to wash her hand to rid it of any irritant.  But the itching quickly turned into stinging.  She didn’t dare tell Caleb that when she fell, her hand had brushed against what must have been stinging nettle.  Not now, they were having way too much fun together.

As they made their way up the mountain, the thought occurred to both of them that they probably should have worn more appropriate footing other than sandals and they probably should have thought to bring along some granola bars or at least some water.  But they had planned on taking a leisurely hike on a paved path.  This had not been the original plan but they were making the best of it.  This would probably be a good time to tell Caleb about my low blood sugar issues, she thought.  But she looked at Caleb and he looked so energetic and excited about making it to the top that she didn’t dare ask to turn around now.  Pretty soon, they were no longer hiking…they were full on rock climbing!  Danielle was definitely not prepared for this.  Caleb scaled the rocks with ease and so Danielle pretended to make it look easier than it was.  Her knee was throbbing, her stomach was growling, and her hand was going numb!  Yet, she still kept silent. 

Danielle looked overhead and saw people going up the mountain on the gondola and wished she were one of them.  Her legs were getting shaky and her footholds were becoming more and more unsteady.  Her hands were having a horrible time finding handholds because the stinging nettle effects had become torturous with any sort of contact.  Caleb would let her go up ahead of him and steadied her by holding onto her calf.  Danielle knew she wasn’t equipped physically or emotionally for what lay ahead and as she looked up, she saw the storm clouds gathering.  She wasn’t sure if she heard thunder in the distance or if her tummy was just growling like crazy but up the mountain they continued.

The people in the gondola from far above Caleb and Danielle were yelling, “Hey guys, what the heck are you doing down there?  You’re gonna get yourselves killed!”  Right at that moment, Danielle looked down .  She had just scaled a rock and was about 10 feet away from any sort of physical contact with Caleb.  Danielle looked down at Caleb standing on a steep ledge which was only three feet wide.  The world started spinning as vertigo set in.  Danielle started to panic and froze in fear.  Even though they were almost to the top of the mountain, Danielle knew there was no way to try to impress him now.  Her legs were trembling as fast as hummingbird’s wings, she was pitting out with sweat, and she was scared to death.

“You ok up there?” Caleb yelled up.

“So, I guess now would be a great time to tell you about my fear of heights?” Danielle ventured.

“You’re kidding right?”

“Oh, how I wish I were,” her voice trembled.

Danielle was stuck…she couldn’t go up and she couldn’t go down.  She was frozen there on the side of the mountain ledge.  Danielle regretted not telling Caleb sooner.  They should have stuck to the path.  She knew it and now he knew it too.  Caleb paced the small ledge he was on trying to come up with a solution.  Over in Afghanistan, he had been trained for every possible situation.  Even when his troops had been surprised by the IED, he was able to command all his guys safely back to base.  But now, as he looked up at this helpless looking girl, he was drawing a blank.  Tears started to roll down Danielle’s face.  She was no longer trying to impress anyone, she was letting herself just be.  Caleb had the idea to go around the trail they had made to the ledge to see if there was an alternate route to get up to the top of the rock wall Danielle was stuck on.  As she watched Caleb’s head disappear around the corner and away from her, Danielle felt 100 percent alone and so she did the only thing she knew how…she prayed.

“Please Heavenly Father, please help me,” she sobbed aloud.  “Please help Caleb find a way to get me off this rock.”  People in the gondola up above her were almost tipping over trying to get a look at her in the predicament she was in.  Danielle clung to the rock with all her strength and squeezed her eyes shut.  Right then the thunder rolled and the first drop of rain dripped right on the crown of Danielle’s head.   She looked up to the sky and yelled out, “Seriously?”  Then back to her prayer, “Please don’t let it start raining…not yet!”  As she poured her heart out in prayer, she was indeed comforted.  After what seemed like an eternity, she saw Caleb round the corner and come back into view.  The gondola rides had ceased due to the weather she guessed.  She felt relieved just knowing she wasn’t alone anymore. 

“I guess we’ll call it a day!” he exclaimed.

“Ya think?” Danielles said in her sassy way.  “Oh Caleb, I’m so sorry…and we were so close to the top too.” 

“Yeah, this is the only way up I can see and as long as you’restuck where you are, I can’t get a handhold good enough to come up.  There is one other option though…”

“Anything!” Danielle shouted.

“Just let go.”

“Umm, I’m sorry…did you just tell me to let go of a cliff?”

“Danielle, it’s the only way down.  You have got to trust me on this.  Let go, and I promise I will catch you.”

As Danielle looked down on his full head of thick brown hair, she seemed to note how small the ledge was that Caleb was standing on.  If she let go and didn’t fall at exactly the right angle, they both could go plummeting down the side of the mountain.  Danielle didn’t weigh a lot and she knew from working out with Caleb that he was plenty capable of being able to catch her and keep his balance but Danielle just couldn’t do it.  She was more terrified than ever and felt her body go rigid and become one with the stone she was clinging so desperately to. Caleb could feel Danielle’s panic escalating and knew he had to do something fast.

“Do you by chance believe in God?” he yelled up.

“Well, of course I do!”

“Alright then, do you mind if I say a prayer?  Out loud?”

Danielle nodded her head emphatically and said, “uh-huh”.

Caleb prayed that they would be able to find a way down the mountain safely and he blessed Danielle with the courage to let go on the count of three so they could begin their descent before the storm came.  After they both said, “Amen”, Danielle let go and fell…right into Caleb’s arms.  She buried her head into his broad, muscular shoulders and started to sob.  She was so thankful he had caught her, and he was so thankful she was safe.  As if on cue, the lightning cracked and the rain began to fall.  Going down the mountain proved to be much tougher than when they had gone up.  Several times, they had to implement the strategy of Danielle having to let go and every time, she landed in his capable strong arms.  Danielle started to feel like they would never make it down the mountain.  The rain came in intervals and so they tried to make headway on the rough terrain when the rain subsided a bit.  They were both drenched and exhausted.

Once more, they ended up on a precarious ledge where Caleb had to leave Danielle for a moment to scout out possible options.  By now, Danielle’s knee had swollen up like a grapefruit and each step hurt.  She was happy to have the chance to rest while Caleb was out scouting but he ended up being away much longer than she anticipated.  She once more started to get scared and thought that maybe Caleb was in danger.  Again, she prayed to God to be protected.  She prayed to not be left alone, she prayed for safety, she prayed for the rain to stop, and she prayed for Caleb to return quickly.  Silence.  Danielle remembered the song she had woken up to and decided to pass the time she would start to thank the Lord for every good thing.  Essentially she was counting her blessings and found that she had many.  But even still, she wanted to know that God heard her.  She didn’t dare ask for a sign but right at the moment her faith began to wane, she caught a glimpse of a piece of material snagged under a bush within arm’s reach.

She rubbed her left hand and prayed for the allergic reaction to get under control.  If she was going to get down this mountain, she would need the use of both hands.  Her eye caught the piece of fabric again and she reached out to release it from the thorny branches.  What she pulled out shocked and reverenced her at the same time.  She had found one lone red glove.  She blinked hard to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.  She wasn’t.  Sure enough, not only did the glove fit her small hand, but it was a left hand glove…the exact hand that was suffering from the reaction of the stinging nettle.  Maybe she wasn’t alone on this mountain after all, she thought to herself.  Right at that moment Caleb appeared and eagerly exclaimed, “I found the path!”  As Danielle clambered down the rock she thought to herself, “I found mine too”.

Caleb had found a way down, albeit extremely dangerous, which would lead them back to the main hiking trail.  Thankfully, the glove Danielle had found supplied the needed grip she needed to safely maneuver the rock formations which led back to the trail.  By now the rain was incessant and both Caleb and Danielle looked down at their drenched, muddied clothes and sandals.  There was nothing to do but laugh and soon they had their feet back on solid ground.  They found the paved path that they had strayed from six hours earlier.  They could see the parking lot from the path and saw only one lone vehicle…it was Caleb’s blue truck.  Danielle couldn’t believe how idiotic they had been to go hiking in such weather and having been so unprepared .

Caleb was just as happy as Danielle was to be back on the path.  They were both famished and thirsty.  Caleb had massive blisters on his heels where the skin had been rubbed off from his sporty sandals.  Apparently, sandals are not the smartest things to wear while hiking or rock climbing.  Danielle’s legs were cramped up from the paralysis of having been stuck on the ledge for so long.  All Danielle wanted to do was go home and soak in a hot shower.  They were both disappointed that they hadn’t made it to the top when they had been so close they could see the lodge, but at this point they were just happy to be alive.  Caleb started the truck up and they both sat in silence as the windshield wipers swished furiously.  Danielle asked to change the station from the blaring rock guitar to something a bit more soothing.  She stared out the window as Mandisa sang,

 “When the waves are taking you under,

Hold on just a little bit longer,

He knows that this is going to make you stronger. Stronger!”

Something changed in Danielle that day.  She realized up there on that mountain that she could stand on her own but only if she had God by her side.  She realized that she is never truly alone.  As much as she had loved holding Caleb’s hand, she knew that he was taken.  And rather than pout about it as she would have before, she found herself being happy for Caleb and Alicia.  What kind of girlfriend would allow a boyfriend to take a “workout buddy” hiking?  The answer was one that trusted Caleb implicitly.  That said a lot for her character as well as Caleb’s.  Danielle’s whole body was in pain but somehow she felt stronger than she ever had before.  She smiled over at Caleb and slept the rest of the half hour down the mountain holding her own hand..the one with the red glove.

 http://youtu.be/l1mMgPA0iJE Every Good Thing

 http://youtu.be/TTk0GB7J7X4 Stronger

The Afters. Every Good Thing. Rec. 16 Apr. 2013. Columbia, 2013.

Mandisa. Stronger. Rec. 1 Apr. 2011. Sparrow Records, 2011.

http://youtu.be/TTk0GB7J7X4