Climbing Mountains

Climbing mountains is one of the hardest things I've ever done. It's one of those things where after about 10 minutes I ask myself "why did i want to do this?" or "who does this for fun?" It's definitely the most disgusting, infuriating, rewarding thing I have ever accomplished. I never did sports growing up so I had never experienced the thrill of winning or conquering something like a mountain or another team. (I'm so not coordinated so i don't regret not doing sports, in case you were wondering or judging me).

But I will say that doing physically challenging things is absolutely necessary to the human experience. LIFE. "The Glory of God is man fully ALIVE". I think climbing a mountain, running a race, winning a game, etc can all fall into that category. But I also think simple things like laughter, joy, community, intimacy with the Creator, etc are also ways we experience LIFE. (I'm not listing the hard things like loss, tragedy, etc, but those are included just as much).

I consider myself incredibly privileged to be able to climb a mountain, run, walk, laugh and live. Since I have a sister with physical handicaps, I never dare take the ability to walk and run for granted. I think that is further motivation for me to go running when i don't want to, climb a 14,000 ft mountain even when it hurts, or rake a green field for an entire week (work week haha). I have to remind myself of this gift. This gift of being able to do physically "moving" things. There's also so many spiritual connections that occur when we choose to do things that will challenge us. Some people love challenging themselves physically. I don't. In fact, I wanted to quit on that mountain so many times, but I knew i could do it, so i kept going. It's such a mental game, gosh. WHY!?

Last summer I climbed two 14er's. Greys and Torreys. Two peaks next to each other. It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. That is why I choose to climb the Incline. That is why I choose to climb more mountains this year. Because even when it feels like I'm dying, I remember that I'm really LIVING. Thank God for life and the ability to live it with Him!

The Incline from Hailey Marie on Vimeo.