Before coming on the race I always had a picture about hiking and how much I enjoyed it. Now I have hiked in Nepal and have found out the truth about myself- I’m out of shape, and I’m not used to mountains.
It felt like an infinite staircase and I didn’t know if I would make it. I was also congested and just getting over a cold so I’ll give myself a little bit of slack. I’m pretty sure it was just a small part of how I felt though.
It’s obvious to say that the view was worth it, that giving up was not an option, and that hiking relates to hard times in life, but I really wanted to quit. Before the last flight of stairs I stopped. I realized how much I don’t like hard things and how weak I am. I already knew this and this was just another smack in the face. God, I’m not fit for this. I can’t hike. I can’t get out of my comfort zone, and not only is it that I can’t- I don’t want to. This is what my life has always revolved around- how hard it is and how unfit I am.
I have always held onto God’s strength and have known that he is glorified the most in our weakness, but it’s a mountain that I have been climbing for much of my life.
It reminds me of a teaching given at our training camp. How we will forever be climbing up a mountain of iniquity and sin, but the main thing is that we are going higher and higher on the mountain, learning new ways to conquer, relying more and more on the father, and approaching situations with more wisdom and discernment.
I love mountains so much, and there’s so much truth that God teaches us from them. They’re so beautiful, so far away, yet so prevalent. If you start climbing you will reach them, but it’s not an easy journey.
So, yes, I stopped many times including right before the finish, but I made it to the top. Maybe you have stopped a few times on your journey up your own mountain. Maybe you started climbing another mountain. But until the end there is still hope, there is still time, there is still growth to be had. Even when it hurts and you longingly remember Florida hikes in flat woods with an occasional fallen trunk to climb over.
