The Mountain

A few years back, I was on a camping trip as a sponsor in my role as a youth ministries intern. We were up in the Grand Tetons area in Wyoming. If you haven't been yet, you really should. The mountain crests are so majestic that its hard to believe they are even real. The air is so crisp it almost doesn't feel like you are breathing, but rather just purely existing.

 It is one of my favorite places on earth.

The kids clearly had this same appreciation I did. A few of them ran up to my boss and I, begging for us to take them over to a nearby mountain. Of course, it may have *looked* nearby, but it was probably a good 15 miles away. My boss, their youth pastor, looked behind her shoulder at the mountain in the distance and chuckled, "You all realize that mountain is way further than you think it is, right? You'll never make it there by dinner!" The kids persisted, and so, as the intern, I grabbed another adult leader and we took about 12 kids on a spontaneous hike towards the mountain.

I'd love to say that we made it there.

But we didn't even come anywhere resembiling close.

I still remember that hike though. I remember jumping over ditches. I remember crossing over streams. I remember discovering wildlife. I remember the constant feeling of adventure. I remember seeing the look in those kids eyes, and seeing excitement at discovering all that God's creation had in store.

But, eventually, time ran out. We got to a fence with an ominous red sign, "NO TRESPASSING PRIVATE PROPERTY" We had ran out of time anyway.

I feel like I've been on that hike again.

The past three years of seminary has been quite the adventure. I started this hike on a leap of faith. John Muir famously said, "The mountains are calling, and I must go." I feel like God has called me to this mountain. But, at the time, it seemed so far off. But still, I've felt the need to just go.

Slowly, but surely, I've put one foot in front of the other. I've crossed streams, jumped over ditches, fell a few times, and even have had to chase away my fair share of snakes.

But this time, there isn't a "NO TRESPASSING" sign.

As a matter of fact, there is no fence. There is no barrier. The mountain is right there.

It seems like this hike has been so long, and the mountain always so far in the distance, that it is a little daunting to think, "Hey, I get to climb this mountain now!" Of course, I know how to climb a mountain. I'd argue that I've been climbing some mountains along the way. But now, I realize the world is a little more unknown, and the task before me is a little scary.

I don't think this is the kind of thing that just seminarians go through.

Often in our lives, God calls us something that can be exciting and yet a little daunting. We feel the pull towards that adventure. Sometimes we can see the mountain and the path clearly, and sometimes we have a hard time making it out. But, somewhere along the line we take a big gulp and ask, "Are you sure God?" But here is the beautiful thing about it:

God has brought you this far. God has called you to do great things. God has called you to do hard things. And the God who calls us, always equips us, and never leaves us.

So, yeah, this mountain is scary. At times, I didn't think I'd ever actually reach it. But its here, and the only way to experience all that God has called us to, is to start climbing.