Peace Family are you inspired by others who climb major mountains in their life and succeed? I sure am! What about a literal mountain…the highest in the world…Mt. Everest? My friend, Jim Herrington, is a professional photographer and has decided to write a book and photograph mountain climbers. World class mountain climbers. Here is a photo of Jim with the first woman to ever stand atop the summit of Mt. Everest. Her name is Junko Tabei and she is Japanese. He traveled to Tokyo to meet with her last week.
What a remarkable story she has of perseverance. I’ll let Jim tell you her story:
May 4, 1975: Junko Tabei and four other members of an all-female Japanese climbing team were asleep in their tent 21,000 feet up the flank of Mount Everest when the avalanche hit at midnight. The wall of ice and snow violently slammed into the five climbers, sending them crashing down the side of the mountain. Although considerably injured, they all miraculously survived. Twelve days later, the resolute Tabei, still painfully wounded and crawling at times, dragged her 4’9” body to the summit to become the first female ever to stand atop Mount Everest.
And here she is today, after I photographed her in Tokyo for my book about 1920s-1970s climbers.
© Jim Herrington
Can you believe the strength and bravery that took? Of course I looked her up online and you can read all about her remarkable story. The part that meant the most to me was her statement, “In that moment on the mountain I realized I had to give it all I had and if not now, then when?”
Peace Family are you climbing a mountain today in your life? Maybe a problem in your marriage, or an illness or financial issues that seem like mountains too tall for you to possibly climb. I want you to know that you are not alone. Jesus is with you on that mountain…even in the middle of it when you think you can’t go one more step. In that moment He is with you. So take a deep breath, cry if you have to, and put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Faith and determination play a huge part in your success and ability to overcome. And we are here for you, too Peace Family!
