Climb That Mountain...

This past December my husband and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. We stayed in a sweet cabin at the foot of Table Rock. It was the Christmas season, and the fireplace and rustic atmosphere was wonderful. We spent eight hours one day climbing Table Rock Mountain. Wow, was that a challenge. More so than we thought. We are not the most fit people in town, it was cold, and we had our share of struggles along the way. Much of the day was spent in wooded areas, climbing over treacherous rocks, in valleys and trenches. We tired easily and stopped often to rest. Not long after the climb started, I developed huge blisters on the back of my feet and every step that I took was painful. At the halfway point we were both tempted to say, "That's good enough, lets head back." We were about to give up, but instead we pressed on. As we made our way to the top of the mountain we began to have a conversation about the journey of our marriage. We talked about birthdays, vacations, the birth of our children, anniversaries,and the joys and accomplishments along the way. We also talked about the heartaches, disappointments, failures,and times of complete despair and hopelessness. We shared the pain of our journey,like the blisters on my feet. I said, "You know, our marriage has been much like climbing this mountain." We've spent much time wandering in the woods, battling rocky terrain, breathless and tired, with blisters on our hearts. We've pressed past the moments of just wanting to give up and turn back. It even became comical to us as we noticed how naturally my husband would take the lead in the rocky rough situations and when the path was smooth and straight I would pull out ahead, much like our relationship. As we reached the peek of the mountain we stepped out in a spacious place and there was a breathless view. We stood there together in awe of the beautiful sight. It was so powerful and majestic. This is very true with the mountains in our life. If we let them, they will conquer us, but if we press on we gain a beautiful view. As we came down the mountain and made that long journey back to our warm cabin, tired and aching, my husband said to me, "I think that's the coolest thing we've ever done together." I turned and looked back," yeah, we conquered that mountain." So go on and climb that mountain, see what's waiting for you at the top.

"I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to my enemies but have set my feet in a spacious place." Psalms 31: 7-8