When my wife and I stepped off the main trail to Sentinel Dome in Yosemite, we were exhilarated with our view of the Yosemite Valley. There to the left, El Capitan; just in front of us, Yosemite Falls; and to our right, Half Dome.
But we hadn't yet climbed to the tippy top of Sentinel Dome. The 8,100 ft. summit was still a brief - but very steep - scramble of 75 yards or so to the top, and past a band of slippery snow encircling the dome.
My wife had no intention of climbing further up the dome.
"I can see everything from here," she reasoned accurately about El Cap, the Falls and Half Dome.
"But the view will be better further up the dome," I urged her.
"It's scary enough here, and I might be afraid to come back down," she replied.
"But it's not that much further and you've already come this far," I pushed.
"Why can't I just enjoy where I am - you're going to spoil it for me," she finally said.
Fair enough. Just as Part I of this blog illustrated a core belief of orthodox Christianity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - this conversation with my soulmate taught me something about our individual walks with God.
As Believers, we share the same core concept - Jesus is the Redeemer, Son of God who died for our Sins. Turning from our past ways to Believe in Him we have the Promise of eternal life in our relationship with God. That's the common view we share from the base of Sentinel Dome.
But what's a little further up the hill? Additional, different views and perspectives of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit maybe. But while I was exploring Sentinel Dome, scanning and searching for views - taking many pictures, talking to others at the Summit - my wife was happily soaking up her experience there at the base of the hill.
She affirmed some other climbers who didn't want to go further and they found solidarity in their experience.
Once I made the short trip down, we compared notes and eventually walked back down the trail.
Now, as we tell people about Sentinel Dome - we each describe the fact that you can see the three landmarks so beautifully - but its very difficult for me to explain the nuance of that final scramble to the top. I'm delighted to have enhanced my experience that way - but my wife has no regrets either. And we both revel in the shared experience.
Sometimes I look around the room at my Bible Study and wonder why no one else carries around a Bible commentary and a highlighter - or stops to write notes in the margins. But they're quite fulfilled in their walk and we clearly share the same view of the subject matter. Maybe I've just decided to travel a little further along the same trail.
What do you believe?
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