Too close to the edge...

This weekend we were hiking with some of our friends up to Kalidonia Waterfalls. It was refreshing to walk beside a stream of water with tree cover and be surrounded by green vegetation. The coolness of the brook and the shade seemed to wash over the blistering hot days with no cloud cover we had been enduring the past few weeks. The children on the hike couldn't contain themselves and any moment the trail came near the water they stopped to wade in it. One mother chided her children not to get to close to the edge of a cliff. Charis who wants to understand everything asked what "the edge" was, and we laughed as we attempted to explain (it is harder than you would think).

On our way back, we decided to take a different route which had a wider path of switch backs. It was suppose to be less scenic (I still found it beautiful!) but quicker. The children ran and laughed giving the parents time to chat. Suddenly Charis' ear piercing scream interrupted the peaceful mountain air. I turned to see my precious child sliding down a cliff. Her eyes were full of fear and her hands surrounded by sliding rocks reaching upward. Adrenaline kicked in and with little thought of being almost 8 1/2 months pregnant, I threw off my bags and jumped off the edge as if I was sliding down a slide. My momentum caught up to my sweet girl and her hands got stuck under my backside giving me a chance to grab her. At first I was afraid I had crushed her hands or broken something because she cried out again in pain. Pressing my feet into the loose ground I grabbed her. I hugged her tight assuring her everything was going to be okay. Joshua who had been up ahead was there already and with help of another holding onto the trees around, they helped us up. 

When we got back, Charis recounted the story in her own words on video: "...I fell down the mountain. Daddy told me not to go close to the EDGE and I DID. And I FELL down the mountain and I scratched myself..." I am so grateful for my heavenly Father's mercy and grace who takes care of us and our children even when we get too close to the edge.