One Step at a Time
When I was hiking in Colorado with my oldest son recently, I knew that first day would be a challenge, but I had no idea how hard it would actually be. In one day I went from living at about 400 ft above sea level, to his place at 8,000 ft. The next day we drove to the trail head, starting our hike at 10,000 ft, and we stayed above that for the entire three-day journey.
As is often the case in life, it’s easy to start strong, but it’s how you finish that matters. I was feeling pretty good for the first two-and-a-half miles. Then we hit the final push to cross over the Continental Divide at 12,500 feet (just above my head in the photo). That last half mile was nearly straight up. I went from pretty good, then to ok, then to thumbs up, then no response at all. All I could do was think, “just keep putting one foot in front of the other and get this done.” My son later said, “I was getting a little worried when you went non-verbal.” I was saving every breath, just trying to survive. Even if you are barely moving, one step forward is still progress. Even the smallest, weakest, frailest step up the mountain is still a forward motion toward the goal. One author has said, “Incremental progress is still progress.”
This is part of moving forward in life, especially when things are hard. I know many of us took steps of faith this week, some difficult steps of faith to invite a friend or family member to church. That can be hard to do, that can be risky, but you did it. Some took the step of faith to try out a Life Group for the first time. It can be scary to walk into a room full of people you don’t know (or maybe it’s scarier if you do know them-LOL). The point is, you took a step of faith and God is going to use that step to draw you closer to Him and grow your faith. Our call is to keep living out our theme verse for the Philippians series (3:14) “I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
We crested the saddle between two snow-dusted peaks, greeted by a topaz lake of glass-like clarity, with large trout sipping mayflies off the surface. I sat down on a boulder and thought “That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. I don’t think I’ve ever been as depleted. I’m not sure I can move another inch today. I need to sit here awhile.” That’s when my son said “Dad, we need to get moving now. We are above the tree line and storm clouds are swirling. We have to get down below the trees in case of lightning.” So I went from I can’t move another inch to hiking three more miles before we collapsed at the campsite. Sometimes you can press on farther than you thought!
Thanks to everyone who turned out for the chili competition. My mouth survived the hot chili tasting though my stomach wasn’t so sure there for a little bit. It was great to see so many connections happening. We have another opportunity for a worship night together on Sunday, November 9th. We’ll be sharing more about that in the coming weeks as it will also be where we cast vision for our church for the coming year.
Join us this Sunday as we continue in our study of Philippians and wrap up chapter two. Also, join us tonight as a new round of D-groups is kicking off. You won’t want to miss these studies! (See here for details). God is on the move at Valley View and in the South End of Louisville!