say to this mountain

shawn and i hiked up teapot hill the last two mondays. don't let the name fool you - yes, it is a hill, but it is a steep one, at least for me. why i do this, i don't know. but there i find myself, donned with hiking shoes and all ready to climb and huff and puff my way up this hill. there is no little trail that leads to the steep part, it is steep right from the parking lot and it doesn't level out until you are about 15 minutes into it. i dont know why i always feel closer to God when i am out there - maybe because every breath feels like a gift. first i lecture myself on being out of shape and then i just have to concentrate on putting one foot in front of another.

so once it did level out, we stopped for a minute to catch my breath - shawn didn't need to catch his, he is a stud. but while we are standing there, me, panting like a dog on a hot day - a lady RUNS up and past us. as she passes, i say "good job!" and she replies "I am 50, everyday i can do this is a gift". that's right folks, 50. and i feel like such a withering reed.

break over. breath caught. we proceed. and then i start thinking about the verse when Jesus says - "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain 'be thou removed'" and i begin to wonder - is the mountain moved? or are we just in better shape to get past it?

maybe there are times when the mountain moves, a temporary barrier like a car when you are trying to cross the street, but, from my own experience, i think i just get better at climbing over it. issues that used to be mountains have become more like speed bumps. but other issues that i have right now in my life still feel like mountains. history shows that even these mountains will shrink and i will be able to step right over them once they have taught me the lessons i needed to learn from them.

so, once again, it is all a matter of perspective. a hill that is hard for me to walk up in my thirties, is the mountain that lady can run up in her 50's. it is simply a matter of endurance and discipline. the more endurance and discipline, the smaller the mountain seems, the easier it is is to climb. when my faith is disciplined and i have learned to persevere, i can leap over mountains that used to stop me dead in my tracks.

ok, so don't tell shawn that i am getting inspired while we are hiking, he will find bigger hills just to see what i come up with.