Faith Matters

Uphill battles produce beauty

Stay the course, take one day at a time and one day you will overtake the mightiest of hills

What is it about trekking uphill that can become so disheartening? Is it because you naturally go slower than if you were striding downhill? Maybe it's because you lose your breath and begin gasping for life's most basic element, oxygen. It could be you feel heavier than normal, as if you are carrying a gorilla on your back. Going uphill makes us feel as if we are never going to arrive because the finish line is temporarily out of sight on the other side of the hill.

Have you ever felt like life is an uphill battle? Maybe you are reading this column right now on Valentine's Day, and you have found yourself tugging uphill like an engine running out of steam. I've been there; we've all been there. The question resounds in our souls: Is staying the course worth it? If you are there right now, you're not alone, and I want to tell you why staying the course is absolutely worth it.

The Incline -- called the Manitou Incline or simply the Incline, for short -- will sit in my memory as long as I live. Manitou Springs, Colo., boasts one of the most beastly and ferocious mile-long challenges I've ever experienced. It's not only a mile long, but gains more than 2,000 feet in elevation within that mile. In some places, the Incline certainly earns it's name with a steep 68-percent grade approaching the summit, which affords some of the most breathtaking views known to the great state of Colorado. The issue with the Incline is two-fold: the bailout and the false summit. The bailout is a point just under halfway that allows for those who have bitten off more than they can chew to -- you guessed it -- bail out. The false summit is the part you see from the bottom that looks like the finish line, but it is -- you guessed it, again -- a false summit. Most of the time, when you're climbing a hill, the true finish line is just out of sight. Many times our problem is not a lack of will, but too much hill.

The hill brings fatigue. Throughout our trek, fatigue takes advantage of these vulnerable moments and creates in us a gigantic temptation. What is this temptation? It's been called by many names: quitting, giving up, throwing in the towel, aborting, divorcing, leaving, walking out, resigning or abandoning. As Don Decker, my former coach, used to tell us, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." It's so true. The U.S. military gives medals of honor for men and women who learn how to stare in the face of fatigue and deep inward cowardice and somehow find a way to stay the course.

The top of the Incline tells another story. People are laughing, celebrating, taking pictures, breathing a little deeper as they take in the amazing landscape of mid-Colorado. Those who have learned the power of staying the course have not been disappointed with the outcome -- neither will we.

It is actually less painful to stay on course rather than bail out. Let me offer a risky illustration: Have you ever spoken to a woman who has been on the brink of abortion, but then chooses to stay the course? What is her emotional level of health? Honestly -- although I'm sure they exist -- I've never met a woman who was glad she had an abortion. As a matter of fact, the negative emotional and physical effects on a woman who choses to abort are well documented. On the contrary, the smile is impossible to deny when a woman finally sees her child lying in her arms -- or, at the very least, knows her child is in the arms of a loving adoptive family. Let me ask you a question: Do you think it's more emotionally depleting to abort or to adopt? Both are filled with intense emotions and tough decisions, but I believe -- with deep conviction -- staying the course -- even if the course is a ferocious incline -- is less painful than taking the bailout. Although staying the course hurts in the moment, I believe bailout hurts worse and leaves a deeper scar. Let that sink in, and consider your situation. To stick with the illustration above, remember this: "The pain of bailing exceeds the pain of travailing."

I love what the Message Bible says about our common temptation to bail: "So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time, we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up or quit."

I live for the harvest. I live for the "right time" of victory, when the hill has been hiked and the trail has been trekked. I am enamored by the seed, which simply stays the course until something finally gives way in the soil and breakthrough causes a harvest to spring forth. No doubt about it, there is a beautiful and satisfying consequence of staying the course. Uphill battles produce unimaginable beauty.

If you're like me, fatigue finds its ways to tempt you once and again. The struggle is real for those approaching the bailout. However, if we simply refuse to detour from the course, we will harvest a good crop. You don't have to always feel good about the hill. You aren't required to have a happy-go-lucky attitude every day. The only secret to harvest is this: Stay the course -- or as my dad always says, "Hoe the row."

Allow me to give you three quick ideas that will help you to fight your uphill battle:

• Turn around, and remember how far you've come. When I was halfway up the Incline, I had to stop and sit down. As I did, I was shocked to see how far down the start was. I had come farther than I thought. Many times, we need to remind ourselves and celebrate the current victory of where we are.

• Talk to others along the way. One of the best ways to endure the pain of uphill climbing is to find others who share your struggle.

• Take your time. There is a right time for your arrival, and God is not in a hurry to get you to the top. He very much enjoys taking every step with you. He is with you. He is for you. Jesus went before you and knows every pain, every temptation and every moment you are gasping for breath.

Fatigue will come. Fear of failure will haunt your thinking. However, if you will stay the course and take one day a time, one step at a time and one breath at a time, you will arrive at a place called the Summit. There you will, at once, recognize the great value of not only the victory, but also the hill itself.

NAN Religion on 02/14/2015

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