Climbing the Mountains of Life

While on vacation, I went to a park and there they had these huge hills and stairs that runners use when practicing for races or just for daily exercise. While a friend and I were walking, we noticed a father and his young daughter at the bottom of this huge hill. The mother was already at the top of the hill and she was yelling, on your mark, get set, GO!

The father and the daughter began running up this hill and we noticed that the father at first ran the same pace as the daughter, then he started speeding up leaving the daughter behind, he began to go faster and the daughter who clearly could not catch up continued to run behind him. Well, my friend began to get a little upset and said “ I can’t believe he’s not going to let her win, she is just a child” I said to him, why should he let her win, she has to know that there is always going to be someone faster and better in life then her.

I also asked him what lesson this father who clearly loved his daughter would be teaching her if he did allow her to win. Maybe he let her win the day before who knows. We continued to watch as the father made it to the top of the hill and stood there for a moment and watched his daughter continue climbing, never stopping, never turning back, never pouting, she just kept climbing trying to get where her father was.

Then her father did something that brought me to tears, he smiled at her and suddenly while she was halfway up the hill, he ran back down and swooped her up in his arms and held her and carried her the rest of the way up that steep hill.

I was just in awe over this, don’t you get it, our heavenly father does us the same way, and he loves us enough to push us to the extreme at times, knowing at some point we may not make it to the goal line. He stands at the finish line looking at us to see if we are going to waiver or give up! He waits, and he waits, and then once he sees that we have our eyes solely on him, then he swoops down and comes back to pick us up and carry us the rest of the way.

The lesson I learned from this is: You will never win them all; there is always someone that is bigger, better, smarter, prettier, smaller, or taller than you. The list can go on, you fill in the blanks, but… if you have done your best, I mean the very best that you can do, then you have made it to the top of your hill. The only hill you are responsible for climbing in life is yours – not anyone else.

Be confident in the fact that if you set your mark on the finish line of your life, and you don’t waiver or turn back, there will always be someone there watching you and when you least expect it, they will come and meet you halfway and take you to your next level. What I want you to remember is, when this happens never forget that someone helped you and you be the person at the top of the hill that will come back and help the other person that is focused on their goal.

What is your hill in life, are you geared up to climb it?

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET GO! This means to - Get on your lane, get in a starting position…then take off!

Vreed