The Climb

She asked me to climb with her, and before the words were out of her mouth I said yes~~because I would do anything to spend a day with her~~including hiking Heart Mountain!  I mean, how hard can it be anyway?  She took her 3rd graders up there every year and they made it clear to the tippy top every time!  It would be an absolute delight to view the whole valley below from the top of this local icon, and I have always wondered what it would be like to be standing right in that spot that I have been looking at from the ground practically all of my life.  So, YES, I will climb!

A day with Christy~~~as usual, every moment spent with my dear friend would hold special lessons and cherished memories.  At the time, I didn't know that in 6 short years she would be gone.  I look back at that climb now, and I glean so many more lessons than even before.

We started walking on a sunny July day.  The path was long and flat at first.  We talked and laughed and bounced along looking at everything around us.  Heart Mountain stood majestically before us and as we approached it's base, it became our journey.  It melted under our feet as we began the gradual ascent.  The walk was easy at first, just like all of our other walks together.  The path was clear and smooth so I could keep my gaze on the friend beside me and the gorgeous mountain ahead of me.

After a brief snack in the grove of Aspens we set off for the actual climb.  The path got steep very quickly and the talking slowed to more brief sentences in order to make room for the increased need to breathe!  Christy always said that the key to climbing was to maintain a slow and steady pace. That's how she tackled her own steep climb~~~her walk with Cancer. As I walked with her through her illness, I found myself feeling almost like I did when we did the Heart Mountain climb together~~~following her lead, but wondering at times if I was going to lose my very breath before it was over.

 Christy was a practiced backpacker and hiker and I trusted her to lead me safely up the path. I followed her steps carefully, finding my eyes on the path far more than before. In fact, I think I was focusing too much on the path because I was starting to wonder if I really was going to make it to the top~~~this was steep and hard!  The path was narrow and twisty with big jagged stones to dodge.  In some spots the sandy gravel caused our feet to slide, so our footing placement was very important and purposeful.  I kept wondering if this all was really worth it, but then I would look up and see that indeed, we were getting closer and closer to the sky and farther and farther from the ground.  We were making good progress despite my pounding heart and heaving breath.

Christy was confident because she had been on this path many times before.  She knew right where to go.  Her eyes were accustomed to scanning back and forth between the rocky path and the top of the mountain.  She kept the ground and the sky in constant view.  I, however, could only focus on the path, my breathing, and the leading of my friend.

 When I look back through my friendship with Christy, I see how God used this hike as a metaphor to follow.  He knew what was coming~~~He knew the journey ahead~~~but He also knew that together, we would trudge, one encouraging the other and back again.  When we are in the midst of something hard, He gives us people to follow and people to encourage us, but it's never just a one-sided thing.  He uses every situation to it's maximum by teaching all who are involved some very precious lessons. We learn from each other, and together we journey along, and all the while we are getting closer and closer to the top~~~to the eternal view of things.  Christy journeyed through her Cancer with one eye on the path, and one on eternity. She lived every single moment purposefully.  There were big obstacles to dodge, breathless days when her abdomen was so full of fluid that her lungs were unable to fully expand, and the sandy ground of fatigue that threatened to cause her to backslide.  But because of her steady and purposeful living, she walked victoriously upright and led with honor.

I can still remember rounding that last corner and her saying, "We are almost there Kara!"  I can still remember the awe that I felt as I made it to the top and saw what was waiting for me!  Speechless for a moment, I stood and just shook my head.  Who woulda thought that anything could be so beautiful?  And it was right in my midst all of my life!  The thing is, I never had this perspective before.  In fact, I never even knew there could be a perspective like this!  The panoramic view from up top gave me understanding of how the land was laid out~~~~everything seemed to make sense.

Reaching the Top

By some amazing blessing, the wind was not bad that day, so we were able to sit awhile and talk, and listen, and look.  A hawk circled above us as we contemplated life.  One of our dear friends had been killed in a horse accident a few weeks before, and so death was part of our conversation.  We talked about the importance of living every moment as if it would be the last~~~~but not living selfishly.  We talked about making a difference~~~living and loving for the sake of others and for the glory of God.  Living purposefully because of the gift we have been given.

God grew Christy through the last of her journey on earth, just as He grew all who loved her.  He blessed us by her presence and her exuberant example of living well, and He blessed her with His constant comfort and presence and many many loved ones to encourage and care for her.  At the end of her journey I was there with her.  And this time, I was able to whisper in her ear, "You are almost there Christy!  The hard part is almost over."  I can only imagine what she must have seen as she reached the top, entered into glory, and was able to finally see how God laid everything out perfectly in her life and how everything makes perfect sense.  I can only imagine what it must be like to finally get to view not only creation, but the true Creator Himself, and to hear Him say, "Well done my child. You lived with love, and purpose and used your gifts well."

I'm learning that the journey isn't all about the path, it's about where we are going. In order to keep a slow and steady pace through life, we have to know where we are going.  We have to know that there is more than the tough things under our feet and the long climb ahead of us.  We have to know that we are not alone.  And we have to know that there is a purpose for our existence.  We were created for a reason and when we know the Creator Himself, we have a constant companion to guide us through those twisty, narrow, rocky, exhausting times in life and lead us on to glory.  Instead of just living, He calls us to LIVE WELL.

"If you make the Most High your dwelling~~~He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;  they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone~~~'because he (she) loves me' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him (her);  I will protect him (her), for he(she) acknowledges my name.  He (she) will call upon me and I will answer him (her);  I will be with him (her) in trouble, I will deliver him (her) and honor him (her). With long life will I satisfy him (her) and show him (her) my salvation." Psalm 91:9-16