We won’t really reach the top until God calls us home.
Last Sunday, my hubby and I traveled to south Georgia to see my daughter get an award. It just so happened that we had a college visit the day before, for my son, which was north of Atlanta. Needless to say, we spent lots of time in the car last weekend.
On the trip south, I commented to my hubby, who used to cycle a lot, how it seemed like the rolling hills went on forever and how difficult that must be to do on a bicycle. He told me the hills themselves weren’t all that difficult, but it was the fact that they went on and on that was the problem. He said at some point you would ask yourself if they would ever end.
He said it was a lot like hiking in the mountains. When you hike a mountain, the path is never straight to the top. You hike through switchbacks, which are like giant zigzags. You get all the way to the end and then move up a level and walk all the way to that end.
He said that he could see the mountain top from the distance as he hiked the switchbacks, but when he finally reached the top, he would find it was a false top and the true mountain top was even further up.
I thought about our conversation on our very long ride and two things popped into my mind. I’ve hiked a little myself and switchbacks can be maddening, but inevitably, they are part of the journey. There’s beauty in them if we care to look, like flowers we might have missed along the way.
The secret of a good hike is to enjoy the scenery and not race to the top. The switchbacks are part of the journey.
The second thing that occurred to me is that on this side of Eternity, all of the mountains will be false tops. We will never be completely satisfied in the journey. We will always be drawn to something higher because God is always drawing us to Him.
The hills and switchbacks will eventually end when God calls us home. Until then, we have to remember to rest when we need to, but to enjoy the journey. Yes, it can sometimes be filled with frustration and pain, but it’s filled with wonder and beauty too, that we can miss if we try to race.
A car ride reminded me to appreciate what’s in front of me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂