Gravity Hill

 

Gravity Hill

Salt Lake has a gravity hill in the canyon near the capitol.  It is an optical illusion.  The road looks like it is going “down” in the canyon but the road is actually going up.  The way the road sits next to the mountain and the surrounding land causes the road to appear as if it is descending.

I was unaware of this hill.  The first time we cycled this hill, I became frustrated because I was having difficulty “going downhill”.  I thought, “I am so out of shape!  I can’t even ride downhill.”  I wanted to give up and quit the ride.  Fred told me we have to be going up.  “Stop pedaling and see what happens.”  I couldn’t believe it because your eyes deceive you.  It was very strange.

 

Of course, I have made a spiritual parallel.  I am a missionary after all.  Life can be like this.  We might be struggling with difficult things.  It is easy to become discourage and begin to lose hope.  We see others around us that appear to be doing just fine.  We think, “What’s the matter with me?  Why is it so hard?”  You may unaware of the difficulty of your journey.

Here you can see from a broader perspective.  The road is actually going up.

We now ride the hill three times completing the ride with 9 miles.  Now that I know that what appears to be “down” is hard but it does end, I can push myself toward the top. The ride down is pretty effortless and enjoyable.  So, I say with one more journey to the top, “One more push.  You can do this.”

Fred and I have started working in the Collections Zone of the Church History Library.  Fred is reading Japanese documents and deciphering “kanji”.  I am reading missionary journals and learning a lot about the range of emotions that missionaries experience.  We are preparing documents for future public release.