Monday, January 12, 2009

CLIMBING LIFE'S MOUNTAIN

Today I almost climbed a mountain. It's called Picacho Peak, though I'm not sure of the definition of "peak." And I almost climbed it, but not quite. I figured 2 hours, 2 miles and 1,200 verticle feet was enough for a first climb. About 300 feet below the summit I was told it was two more hours to the top, and a wise old feller up there told me, "If you're not sure, this is probably far enough."  (Maybe I looked like I'd gone far enough - two more hours on those rubber legs might have required an air ambulance.)

Picacho Peak is 25 miles south of Casa Grande and its base is the site of the only Civil War battle in Arizona. History says a few Union soldiers bumped into some Arizona rebels, shot at each other awhile, and then quit for the night. In the morning the Union soldiers had left, so the Arizona boys went home. Some fool told me the Peak wasn't hard to climb, so I set out on a bright Monday morning. 

I don't know if I'll do it again, but I learned a few things. It's harder going up or coming down than you think, especially if your first climb is at age 63. It takes strength and stamina to go up, but patience and strategy to come down. The view at the top is worth the climb, but you don't stay there very long, especially when you're hungry and remember you left a sandwich in the car.

A lot of mountain climbing applies to life. A person can't climb continually - stopping awhile renews your strength. You don't want to look at the top too often or you'll get discouraged, and you don't want to look down too often or you'll exhaust yourself thinking how you got up so high. Most of the time you just need to concentrate on the next step and make sure your footing is solid and in the right direction.

The young people you meet on the trail charge on past you, but the older folks stop and chat awhile. Meeting someone on the trail is good because you might need to stop. And they might need you.

When we're facing hard times, life is truly like a mountain climb. In the midst of difficulty we need to keep from looking at the top too often or we'll feel defeated. If we look down too often, we might get scared. So we need to take life one day at a time, or even one step at a time.

Having people to travel with is always good, though we need to walk the trail at our own speed. It's good to depend on others at times, but the pace must be ours, not theirs. 

We need to prepare ourselves and trust that God will be with us on the trail. If we fall, He will help us up, and if we are hurt, He will be there with His healing. No matter what the ups or downs, God will go with us if we let Him. He already knows the trail and how hard it can be. He will give us His advice and direction in the Holy Trail Map if we will just read it. 

Don't forget that Jesus climbed a hill called Calvary and earned us a place with the Father in heaven.

And when we get there, the view will be fantastic!

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