Swaziland is beautiful place; rolling clouds and blue skies by day and brilliant stars by night. There are acacia trees and other beautiful plants for miles. Zebras and giraffes become a normal thing to see. Then there are mountains. The Lubombo mountains near where we lived is not very big. It looks like a big hill from the ground until you try to hike it.
A few of us decided to hike it one Saturday. I naively remember thinking this shouldn’t be too bad. We can take a casual hike to the top and come back down in a couple of hours. Boy was I wrong. This “big hill” showed me how out of shape I really am. When we started we were going at a good pace and I was doing great, but the going got rough very quickly and we had to stop and rest.
Then we started back again and reached the half way point. We stopped here to admire our surroundings and see where we came from (and to take a break).
We pushed on a little more and a few of us had to stop and rest again. It was a steep uphill climb over rocks and through narrow paths. When we finally reached the top I had a huge sense of accomplishment.
The climb reminded me of our journey through life. Beginnings usually start at a fast pace and you have lots of energy. Then you start to get tired and you have to stop and rest. You are usually optimistic at this point and things are still good, so you press on with a renewed zeal. Then you reach the half way mark and you take time to look back and see how far you have come. When you get this far, you usually stop to thank God for what He’s shown and taught you up until this point. He reminds you then that you are not done yet, and you have to move on. This is where the journey gets tough. You lose energy and strength, sometimes faith. Doubts creep into your head about your ability to keep going. You want to stop here for good. You cry out to God for strength to move, for oxygen to breathe, for His power to continue. It’s at this point you realize you can’t do anything without Him. You may have tried before, but your abilities run far short. So you ask God for help and He provides without fail. Finally you reach the top and you are amazed by His goodness and beauty. This may be a little dramatic for a hike (even there were times when I was begging God for the oxygen and strength to climb a little further
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), but it rings true in our lives. The other great thing God does for you is to give you friends to make the climb with you. They push you on and encourage you to not give up. God uses other people to show you His love while using you to do the same for others.
