Lately our schedules have been packed here in CGA.We have class to participate in, books to read, topics to study and process, jobs to work at, people to stay in touch with, places to volunteer at, and everything in between. I would call this season a good and refreshing dose of life.
Just the other week some of my house mates and I were in a coffee shoppe studying and checking off our To-Do list. We’ve been busy and so focused on work and papers until one of our housemates came up with a random idea.
“Let’s climb a mountain!” “That sounds great!” “When?” “An hour from now?” “Sure let me just finish this chapter in my book!”
After our study we ran home, put on some sneakers and filled up our water bottles. We weren’t in any way qualified as hikers but we had the drive to do it. We weren’t even prepared for the weather. On the way to the mountain it started down pouring to the point we couldn’t see anything infront of us. Most people would turn around before the crack of thunder, but we were determined.
During that 2 hour up-hill climb I realized the experience was a lot like life.
We all have a goal that we are striving for and we’re trying to get there. Journey called life is a lot like climbing a mountain. No one said it was going to be easy. Theres going to be a lot of hardships and a few obstacles. You might veer off track.
We put a great deal of effort striding upwards and found great accomplishment in covering huge grounds. Only then did we realize that the peak we worked so hard to find couldn’t go any higher unless we headed back down close to where we started. It was the only path to get to the top. That was frustrating. We felt like we were back-tracking before we could cover anymore grounds. Our pride didn’t want to go anywhere close to what seemed like the start. WE JUST MADE IT SO FAR! But it was the only way. What a humbling thought. Sometimes you have to go back before you can move forward.
We reached places that we thought was our goal. We arrived to an open sky and great view, and after a moment we realized this wasn’t the top and we were not even halfway there. We had a few more miles to go. In hiking terms we call this the False Summit, in life we can call it a distraction from our true, initial goal. AKA the This Is Good Enough Zone. It’s a beautiful place that makes one feel very accomplished with their efforts. There’s even a perfect spot to rest and take in the view. And honestly it was calling my name. Why go any further when you already have this, am I right?
Wrong.
Like life there’s going to be places that are so beautiful that you just want to stop and take it all in. And YES its totally fine to stop and slow down and see where you got to and see how far you got from where you began BUT THATS NOT THE END! THERES SO MUCH MORE TO EXPERIENCE. So yes please take the time to take it all in BUT.. DO.NOT.STAY.THERE. It’s so easy to settle and feel accomplished with how far you got. But you know you have a bigger goal and you can climb so much higher.
Another thing is that I didn’t hike alone on this mountain. We went into this journey together. We started with the same goal, but there were times one of us had to remind the ones who were sidetracked or too tired what we were headed to. There we times that we walked at different paces and places. At those times it felt like we were walking this path alone, but in reality we were all arriving to the same place. Maybe we would reach our destinations at different times, but that’s ok, we were in it together and we were able to laugh along the way. The motivation from my friends helped me pick up the pace when I needed to. There were times my friends would slow down when I fell behind, not every time, but they would enthusiastically cheer me on. They knew I could do it when I wasn’t sure if I could.
Just like life, we can’t walk it alone. You NEED to have good company with you. Why? ONE: because theyre great to be around and you enjoy their company. TWO: you get to help guide eachother and make sure their ok when they fall. THREE: it’s great motivation and support. The journey is always so much better when you get to laugh with those around you.
There were many times we had to stop and catch our breath before we could do that next thing. More than once I slowed down my pace instead of hurting myself trying to catch up with everyone else’s pace. Again in life not everyone has the same pace, and they can hurt themselves trying to force themselves to catch up. You’re not there yet and that’s ok. Enjoy we’re you are now instead of worrying where you think you should be. Life’s all about having a healthy pace; not a race.
We had to get our hands dirty and we sometimes we got dirtier than we expected. I can’t even count the number of slips we had and don’t even get me started on the falls. Sometimes we found ourselves on the ground gracefully and sometimes we hit the ground, Hard. Maybe multiple times in a row.. But we would just laugh, brush off the dirt and keep going. Life gets messy. Are we going to stay in the mud and let that keep us from our goals or do we stand back up and keep going?
Many times on this hike we times we had to stop and rethink our strategy. We took big and scary risks that kept us second guessing our sanity. Like scaling the side of a slick rock with only a wired cord to hold you up.. We felt awesome and relieved once we scaled that cliff and caught our breath, only then did we realize we went the wrong way and had to retrace our steps (which felt even scarier). It’s not a journey without feeling a bit lost.
I thought I was the only one who was scared when looking for foothold and hand grips on the side of a rock. There’s going to be times I thought “Why did I start this? this is too much, I was never qualified to hike this mountain! Maybe I should have stayed in that coffee shoppe with my book.” It wasn’t until I shared my thoughts and feelings until we realized we all felt a little intimidated by our goals, and it was actually very encouraging to know we weren’t alone. Just like life, it’s okay and even uplifting for everyone to share what they’re feeling and ask for help.
In the times when we just want to find a pretty view and say “That’s good enough.” or “Go on without me.” we get to look to our friends and say “this is where I’m at, can you wait for me and help me out?” There’s moments we thought we were running out of time, only to realize there was a perfect amount of time, we just had to keep a steady pace.
We had to get dirty and we had to push our limits to reach our goal. We even made friends along the way! Those new friends who have already been up there were able to help guide us to the right path. We even had to be careful not to assume everyone knew what they were doing. In life we may follow some people who unintentionally bring us down some steep slopes and it’s our job to climb back up and get back on track.
Once we reached the top, our goal, we forgot about all the slips and scrapes. The times we went off path or got lost no longer mattered. Our lungs no longer burned, but we were left breathless and in awe. We realized we made it and got to sit back and experience the beauty and clarity of the wilderness we were once in. We got to explore and felt like we were on the edge of the world. We made it to a place where we could see God’s Glory as far as the eyes can see.
Climbing Yonah is very parallel to life. We can stay comfortable in our coffee shoppes, filling our minds with the words and wisdom with the books we hold in our hands. That’s a great place to be. But we can also be spontaneous and adventurous and fill our life with experience and see what great heights that brings us to. What if we never took risks, what if we never pushed ourselves to keep going, and what if we never saw that beautiful view?
