I saw this video recently and thought you might like to see the quick five minute story of a great American hero who happened to also be a Kansan.

I think we still raise young men in Kansas, just like this today.

(The pronunciation of the name of Father Kapaun  the speaker uses in the video is correct.)

Years ago, when I was a young guy, a friend asked me if I wanted to go on vacation with him. I asked, “Where you thinking about going?” He said he was thinking about Los Angeles, just to put his feet in the Pacific Ocean. I told him yes, I was interested and a few days later off we went.

Now for me, the high point of the entire trip was the Grand Canyon. In person the Canyon is beyond description and is way more impressive than any picture. Before you start down into the Canyon there is a sign that says, “Hiking the Canyon is just the opposite of mountain climbing. When you hike uphill on a mountain you are fresh and excited and when you are tired you turn around and go downhill. Unfortunately, at the Canyon you go down into the Canyon while fresh and excited and when you are tired you turn around to go back, and then you must hike a mountain to get out of the Canyon.”

The sign also said to take plenty of water with you. Of course it was summer time and the temperature was forecasted to be over a hundred degrees that day. So we grabbed a couple of water bottles and down into the big Canyon we went. At first we thought we would go all the way to the bottom, to see the Colorado River, but decided after working our way downhill maybe we should not attempt a ten mile hike down with a ten mile hike back out. Instead we decided to go six miles in to Plateau Point and then six miles back out of the Canyon.

After we made it to Plateau Point, which is 1,300 feet above the river and a stunning view, we decided it was time to go back to the car and drive on further down the road. We had no idea how difficult the next several hours were going to be.

Like I said earlier, the temperature was well over hundred degrees. We were drinking water like crazy and the water was only available in certain places. We took nothing to eat with us and we were hungry. The trail slowly got steeper to where it felt like we were going straight up. The last part of the switchback trail is actually called, ‘Heartbreak Hill’ because you are so close, but yet so far from the top. It took hours to move up the trail. There were so many people coming into the Canyon and plenty of mule riders that you had to move to the side of the trail constantly.

When going through difficult times, around other people doing the same thing, you make friends easily with others experiencing the same thing. We made great friends with a couple of nineteen year old guys walking with us. One was a Frenchman and the other was an Israeli, who was reporting for his six months of required duty in the Israeli Army in ten days. We laughed, talked, sat by the side of the trail and we couldn’t believe how foolish all of us were for taking off down hill so unprepared, after they had warned us at the top of the Canyon.

Sin in our lives is just like hiking in the Grand Canyon. God warns us about sin. Our parents warn us about sin. The pastor or priest warns us about sin. But we want to do what we want to do and what others are doing and look at all these people going down the hill, into the Canyon, and into the sinful ways of man. The problem with sin is someday you may want to quit and then the devil has you in the bottom of this Canyon and you are going to have a difficult time getting out by yourself. Remember Jesus and call out to him even in your unbelief.

Romans 8:39 Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.