International M. Reese Esq.: I am MORE than a Conqueror ~Day 8

I am very please to report to my faithful readers that God's Grace is still sufficient. And I bear witness after facing a very daunting task today. A task that I dreaded and almost played sick to stay home from..... climbing the Great Wall!
I dreaded the idea of climbing an endless stairway only to have to turn around and walk back

down. I didn't see the purpose in this tiresome, and meaningless exercise and hoped that my professor would see my dread and not force me to go.
But he didn't. When the bus arrived at the foot of the mountain that the great wall sits on, I became intensely fearful....the stairway looked soo monstrous. I seemed as though it would take years to climb. And since I'm not in great shape, I knew I would only embarrass myself if I tried.

In fact, I pouted and moped from the time we got of the bus until the time we walked up the first 15 steps. I was a sourpuss, indeed. And my dear friend Maddie tried her best to cheer me up, but I just could not help but feel defeated and beaten even though I had not even tried.

I walked along with Maddie and her mother, trailing behind both of them, and we were the last of our group to start up the stairs. All of sudden, something within me snapped.....
I AM THE HEAD AND NOT THE TAIL, and I AM MORE THAN A CONQUEROR and with that I begin to climb the stairs, even using my hands to crawl when I needed leverage. I forced myself to get into a rhythm and told myself "Just keep swimming" (Its what the little fish on Finding Nemo kept saying to the other fish when they were caught in the fisherman's net)

The next thing I knew I had hit the first landing (between every couple of hundred stairs there are landing) and I realized....HEY I CAN DO THIS! I'm not a punk, but a strong black woman....who has enough faith to try! And making it past the first landing gave me the courage to keep on truckin!
So this time instead of crawling, I stood tall and walked step by step up the stairs. The stairs were uneven and rough, and sometimes the stairs were two concrete blocks high, instead of one, and thus much higher to climb. But I took them in stride. I knew that I could do it if I just kept focused.
When I would see my classmates on the stairs, I didn't stop and chat with them. And if they were sitting down at a landing, I wouldn't take a break with them. I just breezed on by. I was in my zone, and as Lutha says "Ain't no stopping me now!"
But then, Mother Nature kicked in after the second landing. My knees and ankles began to scream bloody murder. And my body was begging me to stop the madness. I tried to force my mind to think about being a conqueror, but my body said "to heck with that, just sit down for a minute." But I knew that was a trick, because if I were to sit down for a minute....it would all be OVER!

So I just kept going, I even had to resort to climbing on my hands and knees again. But I was still determined. I started to sing to myself, and encourage myself....it really does work
Pretty soon I had tunnel vision and could only see the stair that was directly in front of me. I didn't look to my right nor left. But there were so many people and the stairs got so narrow that we were backed up for a couple minutes....I refused to let the crowd slow me down...I pushed past old people, children, and anyone else who stood in my way. If they needed a rest, I walked around and over them....

When I finally did look around I began to notice that the surrounding mountains were getting smaller and smaller and that I had come a mighty long way!!! LOOK AT GOD!
I didn't take the time to stop and stare, instead I kept climbing and told him thank you with each step.
Then I began to grasp at my chest....I could.....not.....catch.....my...breath.......
my mouth was burning and water would not cool it...I thirsted......but water was not enough.....

Again my body begged me to stop....it said "you could be having a heart attack...you know you aren't in that great of shape and young people are dying everyday....you should stop before you kill yourself...because there's no point in killing yourself for vanity!"
But I said "SELF...shut up... I'm all the way at the top... and its no point in not finishing now.....if I perish...I perish....but I'm going to keep going"

then I started to get dizzy.....and so I went back to crawling.....and then one of my favorite songs came on my ipod "Walk It Out" and I caught a wind and stood back up.

I had reached the fifth land, and was in the clear from there!
Instead of walking, I began to dance up the stairs...I was elated! Giddy! Gleeful! And singing and dancing like there was no tomorrow!
The Asian people just stopped and stared at me, but I kept singing...
Pretty soon, I could see my goal....dead in front of me...and I started dancing like all get out!!!
I WALKED IT OUT!!!!