Hello, thank you for joining me today for Give Him 15. Give Him 15. The title of our post today is

God's Kiss for Suffering Humanity. I lived in Colorado Springs at the base of Pike's Peak for 25

years. This majestic mountain towers 14,114 feet, and is one of the

nation's great tourist attractions. It was at the top of this Grand Mountain Peak that

Catherine Lee Bates received her inspiration to write

the song, America the Beautiful. Thousands of people drive to the pinnacle of this mountain

every year to enjoy its panoramic views. Other people of dubious wisdom, in my opinion, actually climb it. You don't have to do so

with ropes, spikes, and such. You can, but you don't have to. There's a steep trail several miles long

that winds its way to the top. I'm told it takes about eight hours to make the trek and eight weeks to recover from the pain.

One day I found myself thinking I might try this, but I quickly recovered from this

momentary imbalance and promised my spasming body that I would

never again think such an insane thought. A friend of mine once climbed it with his two kids and

several other young children. I don't know what possessed him to do this,

but we did recommend several weeks of psychiatric care for him.

We also agreed not to tell the local social services

that he led his children on this journey.

Surprisingly, his kids still love him and want to remain in his care.

He told me that it took 10 and a half hours instead of the typical eight because the kids

had to stop frequently.

He ended up carrying their burdens, the packs, water bottles, lunches, most of the way.

Serves him right.

They should have made him carry them as well.

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