The Conquering Trip 2016. Wow, you guys. It was an amazing journey with struggle… with doubt… with challenge… with fear… with hardship… with freezing toes and chattering teeth. But, we persevered and we kept our eyes on him. And, we conquered.
To sum up the hike for you ::
Day 1: 6.95 mi to camp. Rain on rain. We were soaked! And, on top of that, the forecast showed rain every day for the next week.
Day 2: Hike through a raging river and 3.81 miles to make camp along the river.
Day 3: Hike a hefty 10 mi over a 12,000+ pass to Colorado Basin
Day 4: Rest in Colorado Basin & prepare for Summit
Day 5: Hike up the 14er, Windom Peak, back to camp, & through Colorado Basin to next camp.
Day 6: Finish the hike with 3.17 mi to the train station
Over these 6 days in the mountains, the Lord revealed to me two concepts about mountains. First, the symbolism of mountains as road-blocks. They’re huge and hard to overcome. But, they are also insanely and breathtakingly beautiful! And, second, that the mountains will one day be brought low (Luke 3:5)… that the flowers will wither and fade but the Word of the Lord will last forever (Is. 40:8).
Mountains are huge and difficult. They stand in the way of a straight path to the other side.. we can’t even see the other side from where we stand. And in this life on earth, we always have mountains in our hearts that block the straight path to the other side. Mountains that, without a savior, we are helpless to overcome.
But, what I had never noticed before is that these mountains that make us ache and make our breathing labored… they are beautiful! They’re gorgeous. Even though the journey up the mountain is so difficult when our eyes are down and we are focused on trudging forward… lifting one foot to put in front of the other, on and on… we do occasionally have to take breaks. And, when we lift our eyes and look around, we see the beauty of it all.. On the mountain, you can look behind you and see how far you’ve come… at the still glass-like lake with a stream trickling down out of view, where you filtered water just an hour ago, looks tiny. You can look around at the field of wild flowers that surrounds you. And you can look forward and up at the majesty of his creation in the huge rocky path winding up as far as you can see. Who else could create such beauty?
It is in a moment like this that we can relish and rest in his unbelievable creativity. If the Lord can and has created such beauty in the wilderness of Colorado, how much more creativity does he have stored up and in line for your life? When you feel that there is no solution… no possible way things could work out for good… remember that you are loved by the creator of this Colorado wilderness. And, guys, he loves YOU way more than he loves the grass and flowers of the field (Is 40:8). He has already worked things out for you. He has a plan and its way better than you could ever imagine.
In fact, his plan for you is eternal. Your broken heart full of mountains that block your view of Him is not.
So take a few deep breaths, some photos… and keep trudging forward and up with your Creator.