What I Learned at the Top of a Monuntain

This past weekend, I went to Gatlinburg, TN with my fiance's family. We stayed in an amazing cabin, that had hot tub and a pool. And we went to some amazing restaurants. But I should mention, my fiance's family is very VERY into hiking. His dad and two brothers have been section hiking the Appalachian Trail for years; they go out with nothing but backpacks for a week or more. And they do this because they think it's fun.
While we were in Tennessee, they wanted to hike in the Smokies, at least a little. It wasn't exactly my ideal day but they were really excited to take me. So we set out to hike to the top of Mt. LeConte, which is one of the highest peaks of the Smoky Mountains. As someone who has never hiked a mountain before, that was a little scary to hear. But I prepared to go with them and tried to get excited. Luckily, we ended up only being able to do a much smaller hike because of the weather.

But even still, that hike was far from easy.

We got hit by a snowstorm, it was uphill the whole way and the temperature was barely 20 degrees near the top. The only bright side was that the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. And being in the woods, on a mountain, in nature, is a wonderful place for God to stir something in your spirit.
As I reflected back on this trip later, I was glad I went. It was hard, but it was challenging and beautiful.

This is precisely the feeling and attitude we should have towards the mountains God asks us to climb.

I went because people who loved me wanted me to go and share this experience with them. I was nervous and scared but I chose to have an attitude of excitement instead of letting a little anxiety ruin my trip.  God calls us up mountains because He love us and wants to share that experience with him. We should choose to have an attitude of joy, excitement and obedience instead of anxiety or dread. 

I went because I wasn't alone. I had a whole group of people supporting me and helping me all the way to the top. I had someone motivating me when it got a little hard, and they kept me going. Trust me, if I had been by myself I would have turned around the moment it felt like I couldn't take anymore. God gives us people to walk up our mountains with. He will surround us with people who will support us all the way to the top, and who won't let us turn around when things get hard. 

And I went because I trusted the ones who were taking me up. They had been on this exact trail before. They knew the way and they had gone before me. They knew what they were doing and where they were going and I knew they would keep me safe. God has gone before us and seen the end of our journeys; He has been at the top of the mountain. And most importantly, He will keep us safe, because He knows the way.

What mountain has God asked you to climb recently? What did you learn from your journey?