Up On The Heights

    

   

  It was warm that late June day as we pulled into the National Park surrounding Sylvan Lake. The minivan was full of an excited family on their first Vacation to the South Dakota black hills. Finding a parking spot we all jumped out of the van. Everyone but Brad had remembered to pack their tennis shoes. Remembering again with disdain that as I asked for the fiftieth time on the highway leaving Cedar Rapids, did we forget anything.   Brad said annoyed, No we didn’t and even if we did we will make do without it.

     Standing at the base of the “Harney Peak trail” he looked down at his trendy Toms made more like slippers than anything fit for a trail and sighed. Lydia giggled as she leaped on his back to start the 3 1/2 mile trail. Energetically we passed the paced trail blazers. “Why is everyone going so slow?” the kids asked as we kept our brisk pace for a while…until the incline started to make our legs burn. Isaiah then 13, Elaina then 11, and Lydia then 9 started to get thirsty. In my little backpack I thought I over planned by bringing 5 water bottles, but as we neared the first-mile marker two water bottles were already consumed.

    Going up on the heights was harder than we first thought. An elderly man briskly passed us with his walking stick as we sat panting on a huge rock overlooking the grass covered valley below. Even in the perspired state, we felt the beauty and majesty in nature. The breeze felt refreshing on our tired bodies yet we still were only a third of the way up the trail. Before we were ready, Brad rallied us to keep going. On we went, soon Elaina wanted to turn back so I gently encouraged her to keep going. This helped her for about a hundred yards until her pace slowed again, so for the next mile I put on the hat of encouragement to get my eleven-year-old to keep moving.

“I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

     At mile 2 ½, I switched shoes with her because she had drenched hers in a mud puddle. Luckily her feet had grown to be comparable in size to my own. For the last mile, the incline was intense. With legs burning and lungs heaving, we made it to the magnificent tower called Harney Peak. From this location, you were supposed to be able to see the boundary lines of four different states. South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming.

    Standing on the tower we enjoyed the fourth bottle of water. We only had one more for the 3 ½ mile decent.  We stood with smiles as we looked at the trail we had just come from. We enjoyed the breeze and the view as long as we could but it was already nearing four o’clock. We would need to get to the bottom before sunset.

     Mustering our strength we started our trip back down. Our legs were so tired our pace was slower than when we first started the trail several hours earlier. The shoes on my feet were still wet but we keep going. Stopping 1 mile down we drank the last bottle. I hadn’t packed enough water after all. My shoulders felt tender in the afternoon sun as I remembered I had forgotten sunscreen, but on we walked.

    It is on the trail that I realized that my life has been blessed. Watching Brad walking happily with our son. I remembered how the report of Endometriosis in my annual check-up had given fear that I wouldn’t be able to have children, but God had blessed us anyway. Lydia and Elaina walked together with their arms around each other. They were born only 20 months apart. In the beginning, it was so hard, I didn’t know how I would survive, but on the descent of this long trail, I realized the work was worth it. The sacrifice was an investment for a lifetime of joy. Over the bend, Brad called out to the kids, “Look a fresh stream! Let’s fill up the water bottle!”   

“No,” I called out, “that’s not safe!” But in their thirst, they ignored my warnings and filled up the last water bottle with fresh water. “Delicious,” they all exclaimed as I prayed for supernatural protection.

“The Lord will keep you from all harm-he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:7-8.

    With the fresh water, they seemed to get a new burst of energy. The trail didn’t seem as long on the way down as we talked about all we had seen together that day. We also started talking about what we wanted to eat for dinner. Everyone felt famished from the rigorous exercise. Finally, at the bottom, we rejoiced! We had made it.  

    God created us to go up on the heights, but it takes courage to step out and get moving. As a family, we loudly complained at times of the steep incline and the distance still left to travel, but our perspective began to broaden through the process. We were successful not because we were the most in shape or the best dressed for the occasion. We were successful just because we kept going, one foot in front of the other.

     If you are growing weary, wondering if your life even matters, it might be time to get moving. I can tell you confidently that God hasn’t given up on you, or concluded that he is through with you. No, He is calling you higher. So when you feel stuck on earth when everyone else around seems to be moving forward I encourage you to say in faith, “God I believe you are calling me up onto the heights.”