Tightrope walker Nik Wallenda walked a quarter mile Sunday night without a safety net or harness, 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River Gorge. The 22-minute walk on a 2-inch cable was watched by more than 13 million people all over the world on television and computer.
Pastor Joel Osteen, who offered support for Wallenda during his preparation and praying every step of the way, was present with the family during the Discovery Channel live event.
On Tuesday night, pastor Osteen joined CNN's Piers Morgan and talked about the Sunday walk.
"You as a pastor, there's a man repeating over and over again, Jesus, pray, God, and so on," Morgan asked the Lakewood Church pastor. "If he had fallen, what would you have said?"
Admitting such a concept never actually entered his mind, Osteen offered his perspective on Wallenda's monumental walk of faith:
"I guess my thoughts were, Piers, that, you know he was doing what he loved to do. He felt like he is fulfilling his destiny of doing that," explained Osteen. "He comes from seven generations of it. Nik is a great guy. If he had fallen, I would have to cross the bridge when we got to it. It would have been tragic but we just focused on the fact that he made it through, and you know, we're just happy for him."
Osteen also said that before the walk, he was more nervous than Wallenda.
"He's an extremely calm, peaceful person. He just believes he's in the palm of God's hand doing what he's supposed to do. So he's an amazing man, and we just prayed for peace and strength, though." the best-selling author said.
Wallenda, 34, is a seventh-generation high-wire artist from a family with generations of experience with high-profile, high-risk stunts. Wallenda's great-grandfather, Karl Wallenda, fell during a performance in Puerto Rico and died at the age of 73. Several other family members, including a cousin and an uncle, have perished while performing wire walking stunts.
Wallenda dreamed of crossing the Grand Canyon since he was a teenager. Sunday's stunt took place a year after he traversed Niagara Falls earning a seventh Guinness world record.
