Up the Down Escalator *

Have you ever gone up an escalator that is coming down?

Come on you can admit it...if you haven't done it you at least wanted to!

If you haven't had that experience then let me tell you about it...it's hard!

You have to constantly keep moving, and that's just to stay in one spot. If you want to move forward it takes extra effort -- you have to really want it. If you stop moving even for a few seconds you will find yourself at the bottom again in a hurry.

To get to the top takes consistent dedicated effort.

I think this can relate to life, there is always going to be an opposing force trying to push us backwards, trying to keep us from returning to our Heavenly Father (the top of the escalator) but if we are determined we can beat it!

When I first thought if this analogy it seemed like a pretty good analogy, but recently I have learned there's more to it than I realized initially. I mentioned before that if you stop even for a few seconds you'll end up going backwards.

There is no such thing as standing still and moving forward. So you might ask what happens when I get tired? I could do it for a few minutes, maybe even a few hours, but that's not enough. We have to endure to the end, and no one can keep running up stairs that are moving down for their entire life. So what happens when I need a break?

Well we can either take a break by giving into addictions or turning to things of this world, all of which will set us back to some extent, or we can apply the Atonement.

I'm sure you know the story of the footprints in the sand, well guess who's running up the escalator with you? The Savior is right by your side the entire way with a bottomless bottle of Gatorade encouraging you and helping you to keep moving.

He'll even give you a push now and then if you need it, or hold your hand and pull you, and when life just gets to be too much, guess what? He will carry you up that escalator; you simply have to let Him.

So keep your eyes on the top of that escalator, remember what you are fighting for, and remember who is by your side every single step of the way, he won't let you fall.  

 * Written by my good friend Jarem, who is a great example of constantly moving upward.