Heart Mountain

     I named my blog 'mountains2climb' because I feel like that has been a recurring theme in my life.  There have been many mountains to climb but I have been able to conquer a lot and I am grateful for that.  I also knew there would be more to come.  On Monday, July 9, my zone (a group of missionaries in this area) decided to climb a literal mountain.  Heart Mountain.  It is the 26th tallest peak in Wyoming, apparently and about 7 1/2 miles to go up and back (or so I've been told...)  They also told us that this would take 2 1/2 hours or so to get up the mountain and maybe a couple more to get down.  (That part was definitely not true.)

     I've never liked hiking much, for a couple of reasons...  First, I'm not terribly active and not too fond of pushing myself to the point of exhaustion.  Second, I have asthma, which I feel like is a pretty legitimate excuse.  Any kind of cardiovascular activity results in me not being able to breathe.  So I wasn't too thrilled about this plan. 

     We started up the trail and after a few minutes, I couldn't breathe.  I used my inhaler and took a short rest.  I told everyone in our group that I was going to really slow them all down and that I most likely wouldn't make it all the way before I'd turn around and come back.  My companion, Sister Aitken was perfectly fine with hiking for an hour or so and then coming back down.  So we got up and went on a little further.  Again, I couldn't breathe and had to take a short break.  I knew this was going to be a long trip and I didn't have a great attitude either.  We kept on going up and up and fairly often we'd have to stop and let me catch my breath.  Half of the group started to go on ahead and a few of the elders stayed with us.  After a couple hours of this, I actually started to feel better for a little bit but then Sister Aitken began to struggle with her legs cramping up.  We both had a difficult time working our way up.  As we got closer, we were so tired.  We weren't sure we could make it.  We came across another hiker coming down who told us the top was only ten more minutes away.  About fifteen minutes later, another hiker passed us and told us if we walked briskly, it would take twenty minutes. 

     We were so discouraged!  My legs were exhausted and my lungs hurt just to breathe.  With the help of our group and encouragement from each other, we were finally able to make it to the top.  We plopped down and rested.  I scarfed down half a sandwich and then took a few pictures.  The view was actually quite impressive.  All around us, we saw mountains and beautiful skies.  It took us about four hours to get to the top.  And we only had so much time left in our trip so we had to head back down pretty quickly after that.  Now it was very hot and we were exhausted.  Our feet hurt and we ran out of water.  My lungs were sore and every breath hurt.  It took us about two hours to get back to the bottom and I wanted to die!  I couldn't believe that I made it.  There have been times where I have really pushed myself but I had never pushed myself so hard before, physically.

     When we got to the bottom, the rest of our group was waiting with water for us.  Everyone was talking about how great this experience was.  I didn't feel that way.  The view was fine but I didn't think it was worth all that we had to go through.  My attitude throughout the hike was pretty terrible.  I complained and whined (sometimes joking around, sometimes not), and received much more encouragement than I gave to others.  It was fun to spend time with other missionaries but I never wanted to endure that kind of pain again. 

     So what did I learn from this experience?  One, that I am not a hiker.  Two, that I am actually a lot stronger than I thought I was.  I am pretty proud of myself for making it to the top and having endured what I did.  I also learned that having a good attitude is something that would have made the trip more enjoyable for me... and for the people who stayed back with me.  I know I couldn't have done it alone and I wish I would have shown my gratitude to them by being more positive and encouraging through their trials on the hike.

     I think this is a lot like life.  We are strong enough to endure the things that come up in our lives.  God gives us the ability to accomplish all sorts of things that seem impossible sometimes.  As we go through each experience, we learn what we are capable of and what we can do better next time... not that I'll be hiking again any time soon :)  But the next time I am faced with a mountain to climb, I hope I can have the kind of attitude that will lift those around me (rather than wait for others to lift me up.)  And I hope that I can show love to those around me and help them to enjoy life the way that they have helped me!  It's amazing to me how God wants to help us all the time, to be better and to be happy.  He wants to help us overcome our mountains.  And many times in my life, it has been the people around me who help push me up.