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Holly suggested.
    They squinted back up to where the girl was, and just as they did, they were horrified to see her suddenly lose her footing and begin to tumble and slide down the side of the cliff.
    A woman’s voice came out of nowhere, echoing over them in a shriek of terror.
    “No time for that, now!” Bethany exclaimed as she quickly scrambled in the direction of the girl’s fall.

five
    If there was ever a time when Bethany felt that she might have made a wrong decision, she figured it was the moment she threw all caution to the wind and began her climb up the side of the cliff to the spot where the girl was now clinging to an exposed root she had latched onto on her way down.
    The muscles in her right arm were screaming from overexertion as she tried to grab onto rocks and stumps that would help pull her up. She knew Holly was coaching her along from the valley below, but all she could hear for the moment were her own ragged gasps.
    Just a little farther.
    Bethany suddenly felt her right foot slip. She started to slide down, but she grabbed onto a clump of brush and leaned into it, trying to ease the strain on her arm.
I’m not going to make it,
she thought as fear mixed in with her sweat and slid like a cold chill down her back. She looked up and saw the girl’s face swimming out of focus just ashort distance above her, and she wished she had the strength to tell the girl that she was sorry.
    Please, God! I can’t do this!
she thought, feeling herself begin to fall backward — just like her dream, but it wasn’t a dream this time. This was for real.
    “Bethany!” Holly yelled.
    Bethany’s arm pinwheeled like crazy as she tried to get her balance back. She felt nauseous and light-headed, like she was going to black out.
    I’m done for …
    “You can do it!” the girl suddenly called out, tears running down her face as she held onto the root for dear life. “I
prayed
that God would send help. I don’t know that much about God, but I don’t think he’d let you fail … if he sent you.”
    “God, please help me!” Bethany gasped. Bethany bent her knees and leaned forward. Suddenly she wasn’t falling anymore. She felt her grip strengthen on a wad of branches.
    “When we are weak, he is strong,” Holly yelled from below. “Remember what Sarah told us! God will give you strength when you need it!”
    Bethany took a deep, ragged breath and reached up. She felt the rocky ledge scrape against the bottom of her hand and she gasped. Not out of pain … but surprise.
    It was just like her dream! She grabbed ahold of the ledge with one hand, and as she did, she remembered the words, “I AM the rock!”
    God is my shelter from the storm. He is the rock that gives me refuge from the waves. He is my strength. Why didn’t I understand that before?!
    Bethany felt tears spring to her eyes as she pulled herself another foot closer to the girl. “Please help me,” she prayed out loud. “I can’t do this without you!”
    Amazingly, she felt a surge of energy and confidence, and she was able to keep going.
    A few more feet and Bethany had finally drawn close enough to see the girl’s face. She was battered and bruised, but still pretty enough to recognize. It was the same girl from the limousine! Bethany dug her feet into the rocky hillside, finally finding a foothold on a ledge that was strong enough to hold the weight of both of them. She leaned into the girl so she could slowly slide down into position to stand with Bethany on the ledge.
    Standing together for the first time, they looked at each other and smiled. Then the girl started to cry, and soon Bethany was crying too.
    Through her tears, Bethany barely heard Holly yelling up to the woman above them that she was going for help. Bethany wanted to say something to Holly, but all she could do for the moment was hang on to the girl and thank God over and over for what he had done.
    “My name is Andrea,” the girl said when she was finally able to speak.