In this day of multiple streams of information, stories of extremes seem to rise to the top.  So I did a little research and uncovered a few interesting extremes.  And given the nature of these, likely as soon as I put these words into print, the facts may change.  Even so, these are pretty amazing.

First, ascensions to the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, 29,035 feet high.

• First recorded ascension: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953
• Estimated number of successful climbs to the peak:  8000 (estimates vary widely; this is the most generous estimate)
• One out of ten people that successfully reach the summit lose their lives on the way down

Then, the descents.

• Deepest unassisted free dive (no fins, no oxygen tank, no weights):  269 feet
• Deepest assisted free dive (no oxygen tank but using fins or weights to go deeper):  700 feet

These extremes are well beyond the capability of the average person.  Yet we all experience our own levels of extreme highs and lows.  The lows are described in the painful cry of the Psalmist.

"Out of the depths, I cry to You, O Lord."  Psalm 130:3

We've all been at that point where our distress is so intense that we feel powerless and hopeless.   Our own abilities sapped, we can do nothing but cry out for help.  So we cry.  And He answers.

"In my distress, I called to the Lord and He answered me."  Psalm 120:1

At our lowest of lows, the Faithful One answers.  He loves us and He shepherds us through the trials.

And as we seek to climb our summits, God is there in those moments.

You see, at our best human abilities, our inhabitable world is only about 700 feet deep and 29,035 feet high.  That's a narrow band of only about five and a half miles deep.  That's a tiny little sliver of this planet.  But then this planet is only a tiny sphere within our solar system, far from the size of the largest planet.  Continuing on, earth diminishes even further in stature as we zoom out to the galaxy and then the entire universe.

Yet, we have direct access to the One who created it all and who stands as Master and Lord over all.

So as we navigate our human highs and lows in our narrow band of existence, God, the Creator of all, watches intently over us all, ready to reach out His loving hand to you and to me.  As a loving father rejoices as his children surround him, so our Father rejoices and cares for us.

So we can with confidence lift our eyes to the One who holds it all in both our depths and our mountaintops.  He sees.  He knows.  He cares.  He loves.

May your focus stay upward as you walk through your valleys and mountaintops.

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Thanks for reading. 

Rachel