While on vacation recently, Gary and I went hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. After hoofing it over six miles to Le Conte Lodge, we headed back down the same trail.
The girls taking our picture thought it was so cute that Gary helped me over the rocks by Rainbow Falls.
At one point, there was a big rock with some moss and a bit of water on it. As I placed my foot, I had the fleeting thought that maybe I should step down further to the right instead of directly on the rock. Just like that, my boot slid out from under me and I landed—hard—on my left hip and shoulder. Gary saw me fall, so he hurried back to make sure I was okay. “I don’t think I broke anything,” I moaned as I pulled myself up and sat for a minute. We continued down the trail. I was sore, but I could still hike.
Amazingly, I didn’t fall down this set of steps!
I figured I would have a bruise after hitting that hard, but we were amazed to see just how big it was the next day. A 6-by-8-inch purple rectangle graced my left thigh. It was still shockingly huge when we got home to South Dakota. I decided to go do my swim workouts, even though people would be able to see it.
“Whoa! What happened to you?” several people commented. I was able to tell them about our long hike in the mountains. I was kind of embarrassed that I had fallen, but I also felt pretty proud of my bruise. As I swam a couple more times this week, I came to think of it as a badge of honor. I had taken a fall, but I got up and kept hiking, and I had the bruise to prove it.
Taken two days after the fall. It got even prettier after this!
When you live with a mental health diagnosis, you sometimes end up with emotional bruises and scars. Sure, people usually can’t see them, but we know they’re there. The tender spots in our lives can be a badge of honor for us—proof that we’ve lived through something difficult and we’re still here.
When we see someone else struggling emotionally, let’s be quick to tell them about our bruises and scars. It may inspire them to keep going as they continue their own journey to better mental health.
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV)
Have you ever had a bruise or scar you were kind of proud of? How can focusing on God help you be willing to share your emotional bruises and scars with someone who needs encouragement or inspiration?
Gary and I just got back late Tuesday night from a vacation to Greece.
It was wonderful to get away from our normal routine and explore a different country. We spent a few days in Athens, and then we rented a car and visited lots of cities on the mainland.
In quite a few places, we had to hike up to the monastery or archeological site or fortress or castle. It seems like I reached a point in each hike where I questioned myself.
Can I really do this? Is it even worth it? Maybe I should just sit down and let Gary tell me about it when he comes back down.
I got tired, but I took a little break and pressed on.
And every single time, I was glad I did it.
The views from the top were magnificent and I felt a sense of accomplishment because I had kept plugging away and made it to the end of the hike.
At the beginning of our vacation, I had more energy and enthusiasm. It didn’t bother me too much to make the long climbs to see the sites.
When we got toward the end of our time in Greece, it got harder. We decided to pass up the chance to climb 999 steps to see a fortress in Napflio. And when we explored a fortress overlooking ancient Corinth, I started crying when I saw yet another building high on a hill. I was sure I couldn’t make it there (it was getting close to closing time) and I was just so tired.
But I walked as I cried, and I was surprised to find that it only took us fifteen minutes to get to the top of the building. The wind blew my hair all over the place as I cried grateful tears that I had made it to the top.
Once again, I was glad I did it.
As we travel this road of life, there are going to be ups and downs. We may wonder if we have the strength to make it when it feels like a long uphill climb.
Take a break if you have to, but keep going. You’ll feel that sense of accomplishment when you get through a hard season, knowing that you didn’t give up.
As I was hiking, I was always glad I had kept going and made it to the top of whatever we happened to be climbing on a given day. There were little joys that we experienced on the way up and down: poppies and other wildflowers blooming along the path, the ruins we passed on the way up, hearing various languages spoken by other travelers (I love foreign languages), stopping to take in the views as we got higher and higher on the trail, finally reaching the top, and enjoying the easier trip back down to our starting place.
I thought about how that compares to going through our lives. I sometimes get overwhelmed and want to quit, but I want to push past those feelings and live my entire life. The ups and downs…all of it. I know there are going to be hard times, but I also know there are going to be thousands of joyful moments along the way. When I get to the end of my life, I just know I’m going to be glad I did it.
Keep going, friends, you’ll be glad you did it, too.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7 NIV)
Do you ever get tired of life’s ups and downs? How can focusing on God help you keep going so you can be “glad you did it” someday?
As I write today, I can hear the wind roaring through our neighborhood, blowing around the snow and making the temperature feel like negative forty degrees. I can stay safe and warm inside, but it’s still scary to think about the possibility of the power going out. I also feel some worry for people who have to work outside and those who are traveling.
To be honest, I’ve been a bit of a fraidy-cat lately.
Gary and I went on vacation recently. We enjoyed some warmer temps, but we did have to drive in some snow one day as we left Colorado and headed for Arizona. I was tense as we went through a couple of mountain passes, imagining what might happen if we slid off the road. In another spot, a sign warned of heavy fog ahead. I got pretty anxious, but it was all for nothing. The fog had cleared by the time we got to that spot and we were fine.
We did a few days of hiking in Arizona. It was fun, but I had a few moments of disproportionate fear at a few points on the trail. Some of them were going up—when we had to scramble over some boulders on the way to the summit. Some of them were going down—when I worried that my poles weren’t going to hold me as I picked my way over some rocks.
I was ashamed that I actually cried real tears several times as I got held back by my unreasonable fears.
One of the crying spots. 🙂
Every time, my husband was helpful and encouraging, showing me where to place my hands or my poles so I could keep going.
Looking back later, it seemed silly that I had cried over something that didn’t look as scary in hindsight.
Don’t we do that in life sometimes? I know I do.
I get paralyzed by fear and I can’t move forward because I think about what could happen.
The truth is, God is with us every single moment. He’ll show us how to move forward and he’ll be there with us if something bad does happen. We can live much happier, peaceful lives if we practice trusting him and move forward with confidence.
As we go through the final days of 2022 and look forward to a new year, I hope we can see how God was with us this year. Think about the things you were afraid of. Most of them never happened, did they? We wasted time and energy fretting over things when we could have been enjoying life instead.
As we get ready for 2023, let’s focus on fighting through fear. Let’s look at life realistically and be prudent about the choices we make, but let’s also trust that God will be with us as we tackle new challenges and accomplish our goals.
For me, that includes writing a book. (I can feel the fear rising up, especially as I think about how long I’ve been saying that, but I truly believe this is the year!)
I’d love to hear about something you’re going to do next year. Let’s pray for each other as we fight through the fear and move forward.
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Do your fears often hold you back? How can focusing on God help you move forward in faith instead?
Last week I told you about the first part of our attempt to hike for a week in Tennessee. I didn’t count the cost, so we adjusted our plans and decided to end our trip after four days (instead of seven).
After we made the decision to quit, we still had to get through two cold nights and a day and a half of difficult hiking (mostly uphill).
On Tuesday morning we set out at daybreak. It felt like every time I looked up there was another set of stairs we had to climb. I would go for a while and then stop and lean on my hiking poles while I let my heart rate slow back down. Then I’d take a deep breath and tackle the next hill.
We were still only going an average of about a mile an hour, and my attitude soon leaned toward despair. As I hiked, I started to let out a little whimper with almost every step. I knew I was being pathetic, but I just couldn’t seem to help it.
We finally got to Derrick Knob Shelter at 1:50. We sat and rested a while, then got back on the trail. We still had six miles to go and we knew we were going to have to hike in the dark if we kept up the same pace. Gary had given me a little pep talk during our break. “You look like a really tough hiker chick,” he encouraged me. “You can do this.”
I didn’t believe that I looked like a great hiker, but I chose to think that way. I hiked to the rhythm of a short, punchy phrase for a while, but it included a naughty word and I didn’t feel right about it. (Pastors’ wives never swear, do they?) So I changed it. God’s glorious hiker chick. God’s glorious hiker chick. It was silly, but it worked. With every word I stabbed my poles down in front of me. When the trail flattened out, I tried to go as fast as I could. When it went up again, I tried to go farther before I stopped to rest.
We talked to a southbound hiker who asked where we were headed. “Silas Bald Shelter,” we answered. He looked shocked. “Some people have big, audacious goals,” he muttered as he hiked away.
I kept up my hiking mantra. My I-can’t-do-this whimper disappeared and my attitude changed. It was still hard, but I became even more determined to get to our next campsite before dark. We enjoyed a few spots with beautiful views of the Smoky Mountains, but most of the trail was surrounded by trees. We did make it to the shelter before dark!
Wednesday we hiked the last five miles, finally leaving the woods and merging with the groups of tourists walking to Clingmans Dome on the paved road. We noticed that they all kept their distance from us (even more than six feet!). Guess not showering for a few days bothers some people.
We sat at the foot of the observation tower for a while, then climbed it (leaving our packs at the bottom). We hiked down the road to the parking lot and found a spot to lie down and wait for my parents to get there and pick us up.
We were tired, but proud of ourselves for making it as far as we did. We had challenged ourselves, pushed our limits, and finished well. I hope I can do the same in the rest of life.
I want to challenge myself to do great things. Even if I have to alter my plans once in a while, I’ll keep moving forward with an I-can-do-it attitude.
I want to push my limits. I don’t do that very often because it’s uncomfortable, but I know I’ll grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually when I do something that’s outside my comfort zone.
I want to finish well. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and wish I had accomplished more, loved better, and enjoyed life more. I’m God’s glorious hiker chick and I’m going to finish the race, giving glory to the God who loves me and is with me every step of the way!
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24 NIV)
How are you traveling through life? Do you think “I can’t do this”? How can focusing on God help you to finish life well, whatever lies ahead?
Here are some more pictures of our Appalachian Trail adventure:
A nice view of the Smoky Mountains (Tennessee) Rockytop – we enjoyed a good break here.Good to see the white blaze and know we were still on the right trail. Another view of the Smokies.We made it to our destination – but we didn’t dare ask anyone to take our picture together. Gary made it, too! (A scruffy husband is a happy husband.)Clingmans Dome is the highest point on the AT (6643 feet)
Gary and I spent some time this week getting ready for a trip that seemed far off on Monday.
At first, my attitude was pretty noncommital (dare I say even a bit annoyed?).
My husband wanted me to look into distances, shelters, and more of the details for our trip in a few weeks. We’re going to hike about seventy miles of the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. We love hiking, but we’ve never hiked for a whole week. He was right, we needed to figure things out, but I didn’t want to do it yet.
We sat down one night and mapped out how far we plan to hike each day and where we can stay each night. We called my parents to make sure they could drop us off and pick us up at the end. We started making a list of things we need to buy.
This afternoon Gary made me dig out my hiking pants and other gear. We spent some time trying things on and figuring out what we needed to wear. Our extra bedroom now has two neat piles of clothes next to the rest of the supplies we have so far.
It suddenly dawned on me today that we have just a little over two weeks before we hit the trail. That’s not much time! I’m so glad my husband is a planner and he talked me into doing some planning and preparation as we’re looking forward to this adventure.
Left on my own, my tendency is to put things off until the last minute, rush around in a frenzy trying to get something done, and inevitably forget something in my haste. That’s not good when you’re going to be miles from civilization.
I want to practice living more like Gary in other areas of my life, too. Keeping track of what’s ahead on my schedule and doing a little bit at a time to get ready for those events and projects will help me feel more peace.
It’s stressful to put things off. Deadlines get missed, late fees get added, pressure builds up, and anxiety skyrockets.
I think our spiritual lives suffer, too, when we don’t use our time wisely. We can feel guilt and shame because we’re wasting time instead of working on something important.
We can’t be working every minute of every day, but we do need to think about how we’re spending our time. The Holy Spirit will help us find balance and show us how to make the very best use of the time we have.
That’s the way I want to live, even if I fail sometimes. We can start over whenever we want to and determine to use our time wisely.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV)
Do you waste too much time? How can focusing on God help you to work hard and use your time wisely?
I fully intended to get back to Focus Friday after my Terrific Tuesday last week, but it seems that moods don’t magically lift just because you write a blog post about them.
Friday was a rough day. I had trouble focusing and I felt like I was going to the cupboard constantly even though I wasn’t hungry. When our daughter Erin called, I got a little weepy for no reason, and I thought about just going to bed at about seven o’clock instead of going over to practice for praise team at church. We were supposed to go play cards with our friends after that and I was afraid I would be too down and weepy to have any fun.
I gave myself a little pep talk and went over to church. Amazingly, I felt much better by the time we got done practicing. The words of the songs went right to my heart and I remembered how much God loves me and how much I need to “Trust and Obey,” even when I don’t feel like it.
The card playing went well. Us girls beat the guys in two out of three games of cribbage. I don’t know, maybe I would have cried if we had lost all three, but spending time with our friends got me out of my head and into a better place emotionally.
That’s what I want us to focus on this week. Doing life together, not staying isolated and just thinking of ourselves, and helping each other along life’s way.
I got to experience some of that recently when Gary and I took a couple of days to visit the Black Hills.
We had to begin our time visiting some famous faces, of course. We hiked around the little loop trail that lets you get close enough to look up into the presidents’ noses. We talked to a few people from other parts of the country, visiting Mount Rushmore for the first time.
We pitched our little tent at a primitive campground and got up the next morning ready to do some serious hiking. We got our poles, hats, and packs ready and headed out to hike to Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak).
On the way up I thought about how much better it is when we hike with others. I mean, hiking alone is fine, but there’s something about sharing the experience with someone special that makes it even better.
Part way up Gary and I saw a squirrel carrying something. We looked closer and saw a tail. She scampered up a tree and set the strange bundle down and we were surprised to see the lump begin to move and turn into a baby squirrel. The mom ran back down the tree and we watched the baby walk around unsteadily, almost falling off the branch a couple of times. Some hikers came up behind us and we were able to point out the little creature to them. Mama squirrel didn’t come right back with another baby, so we pushed on.
At another spot we stopped at a point where two trails merged. A hiker coming behind us pointed to the path we should take to the peak. We thanked her and said we were just resting. She explained that the other path was a different route we could take to get back to Sylvan Lake, and there was a cool spur we could take that would go to Little Devil’s Tower if we wanted to. It was obvious this lady had hiked this route many times and we were glad to have some ideas for other trails to take instead of just going down the same way we had come up.
At one point a man pointed out a deer he had just seen cross the trail. We peered into the trees along the trail and could see the deer, something we would have missed if the guy hadn’t seen it first.
It felt good to meet people on the trail every once in a while, reassuring us that we were going the right way and also that someone would find us if we got hurt along the way. (It didn’t feel as good to be passed by hikers coming from behind. Man, I’m out of shape!)
See the little white dot in the center of this picture? There are rock climbers up there!
It might help all of us to think about “hiking together” through life.
We can point out things we’ve seen and lessons we’ve learned on our journeys. We can appreciate the insights and experiences of others who are farther along on life’s trail. We can point others in the right direction when they seem lost, and we can find exciting new adventures as we listen to advice from seasoned travelers.
We can be inspired by the “life hikers” who choose to do amazing things (Like the rock climbers we saw while hiking. It seemed like every time I looked up I saw someone standing on top of a high peak). We can encourage our fellow travelers who are too afraid to even get on the main path.
We can take time to see the beauty in life, sometimes hidden in the unlikeliest of places.
Beautiful little blue flowers in the crack of a rock close to a high peak.
Whether hiking in the Black Hills of South Dakota or journeying through life, the climb is worth it. The views will be spectacular and we can grow and learn from every step we take.
Keep going, everyone. Let’s keep hiking together!
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” (Psalm 84:5 NIV)
How are you hiking lately? Alone or with others? How can focusing on God help you to enjoy the journey more and keep going?
