It's All About the Outfit

I have the best ski instructor! Not only his lessons are free, he bought me my half-day pass. Not only he took me shopping for my own ski gear, he paid for them! Conrad Sports is having a huge sale this time of year, but still, my hand would never dare open my wallet to pay so much for helmet, gloves, snow pants and a jacket. But I think it did the trick! My new look inspired me to try again. This is the boldest I have felt during my short skiing career.

On the lift 

Warming up by practicing a perfect pizza stop

My first ride on a 6-man lift

The only way back is skiing downhill

Scared to death, but actually doing it AND loving it!

Nadia and David are my other two teachers.

Nadia is so good!

David crushed into a tree at our meeting place to cheer me up, so I was not the only one wiped out that day.

The view of the Alps across from the mountains we are on.

Taking a break

A couple more runs with Nadia

It's all about the outfit, I tell ya. Looking good helps me ski better. It was a much better experience also because the snow up there was awesome, and falling many many times did not hurt as much. Also, since I had my own helmet this time, and Scott could keep his on, I did not have to worry about his safety and was able to focus on my snowplow technique instead.   

In conclusion, I want to share what I said at Church the following Sunday. Given this was a life changing experience for me, I sounded like this: "If you look at skiing, it's sort of like life. We have to master twists and turns, fall a lot, get hurt and get back up. But there are stretches when we feel sheer happiness and exilaration from the wind on our faces, from realization that we are actually doing it and doing it right! But then, no matter how good we are at skiing downhill, the climb back can be dicouraging, exhausitng, if not impossible. That's when we need the lift, a big huge pull upward. Isn't it like the Atonement of Christ, or God's power that can do that for us? No matter how good I become, I am still not good enough to save myself in the God's kingdom, I still need his grace and his help. Without it I'd be stuck at the foot of the mountain trying to conquer it on my own and still never make it to the top." Something like that. Amen.