Stepping Into Our Unique Paths
Hong Kong resident Lai Chi-wai is a four-time winner of the Asian Rock Climbing Championships and once was ranked eighth in the world for his rock-climbing prowess. In 2011, Lai was in a major car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down, but the 37-year-old has not let paraplegia diminish his dreams.
A week ago Saturday, Lai spent more than 10 hours using sheer upper arm strength to pull himself 820 feet up the side of one of Hong Kong's towering glass-paned skyscrapers -- a building that stands as tall as the Eiffel Tower.
"I was quite scared," Lai said. "Climbing up a mountain, I can hold onto rocks or little holes, but with all glass, all I can really rely on is the rope that I'm hanging off."
Lai raised $670,639 ($5.2 million in Hong Kong dollars) in charity donations for his climb up the 89-story Nina Tower in Tsuen Wan on January 16, and while high winds kept him from reaching the top, Lai said he hoped his climb would send a message of hope to others:
"Some people don't understand the difficulties of disabled people. Some people think that we are always weak, we need help, we need assistance, we need people's pity," Lai said. "But I want to tell everyone it doesn't have to be like that. If a disabled person can shine, they can at the same time bring about opportunity, hope, bring about light; they don't have to be viewed as weak."
After his tragic accident 10 years ago, Lai resumed rock climbing by attaching his wheelchair to a pulley system and using his upper arms to haul himself up. On the anniversary of his car accident five years ago, he ascended the 1,624-foot Lion Rock Mountain, a Chinese folk culture symbol of Hong Kong's strength and grit.
In a time of global disappointment and discouragement, stories like Lai's remind us that God's path for each of us is unique, marked by unexpected challenges, and Holy Spirit-designed to press us into places we never expected to travel. Are you ready to step in, reliant on God's hand over your life and cognizant of all who are watching as you journey?
Consider Paul's words in his Letter to the Hebrews:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. -- Hebrews 12:1-3
Do you hear Lai's determination echoing through Paul's words to the Hebrews? Note that Paul does not promise an easy trail or matching steps, nor does Jesus. Paul calls us to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus." Have you discovered the race marked out just for you, prepared by God's loving hands so that you might step into His best plans for you? What spiritual disciplines do you need to put into place so that you are able to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?
Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame. What shame do you need to set aside so you can avoid growing weary, instead moving ever-closer to the joy set before you just as Jesus did?
May you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus this week, running the race with perseverance.
Jennie