How to Ride an Escalator Part 2

How to get on an Escalator

Part 2

We’ll be updating “Escalator Stories” this week at www.creekbank.net

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

-Hebrews 11:1

How do you get on an escalator?

Very carefully

With faith.

Emma, Eliza, and I stood at the foot of the longest, steepest escalator in the Boston Subway system. It climbed 143 feet from the subway tunnel to the top. To put it in perspective, that’s a 47-yard field goal.

I thought I could see a glint of daylight at the top. This was going to be a challenge for a landlubber like me.

It wasn’t the distance that bothered me most. It was the steepness.

Several travelers were moving up into the stratosphere, so it was doable.

But the steepness buffaloed me. Getting on the Porter Station escalator felt akin to climbing the steps up the side of the Great Pyramid of Giza. If you fell back, it was all over.

Four-year-old Eliza went into her default mode. She climbed into her Daddy’s arms.

Emma stood beside me.

I was filled with trepidation. I have a healthy fear of heights, but that wasn’t my worst fear. I’d read too many stories of tennis shoe strings caught in the moving steps or someone falling backward and getting their underwear caught in the moving slats.

Neither were pretty pictures.

“Emma, we’ve got to do this together.”

We stepped to the bottom rung. Timing your first step is critical to making a smooth entrance.

It’s always that first step.

That step of faith out into the unknown.

Julius Caesar and the Romans called it “Crossing the Rubicon.”

The Irish called it “Throwing your hat over the wall.”

On the zipline at the Dry Creek ropes course, they call it “Trusting your harness, ropes, and instructor.”

I call it jumping off the cliff to see if you can fly.

It’s a step of faith that cannot be undone.

A bell that can’t be unrung.

In the spiritual realm, it’s saying to God, “I’m not sure where this is leading, but I’m placing my faith in you.”

“Lord, even though I can’t see the end, I believe You have a plan and a way.

That step of faith.

With a deep breath, Emma and I stepped onto the moving steps. She made a graceful entrance, while mine was a little shaky, but we were safely on board.

I gripped the side rails and gritted my teeth.

It was important not to look behind us. I didn’t want to tumble to the bottom or turn into a pillar of salt. I wouldn’t look back until we reached the fifty-yard line and flat ground.

Emma and I had made that first step, and now we were aboard. It was just a matter of standing still and letting the escalator take us up. I began to relax somewhat.

That first step is always the hardest. The next ones can be much easier.

.Another lesson we’ll talk about later in the week: Once you make that step of faith, you don’t look behind. You’re moving forward, and backward glances are ill-advised.

But that steep ride was worth it as we stepped into the bright sunshine and the beauty of the historic town of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“Emma, we did it together.”

A step of faith is always easier if we have a partner.

Together. Not alone.

Well, that’s a story for tomorrow. We’ll talk about companionship and faith.

Tomorrow, we’ll ride the only escalator in the African country of Africa.

Hang on.

As always, Enjoy!

Curt