I climbed a mountain and it wasn't easy. A friend and I took off one day by the best route we saw possible. It was somewhere neither of us had been, and along the way we were met with difficulty. We first found mossy bogs that grabbed our feet and slowed our pace with wet and muddy misery. We found our way through this and at the end of the day, standing tired, dirty, and hungry we camped at the base of what looked to us to be an insurmountable task. We built a fire and set our boots out to dry. As things go sometimes my boot tipped into the fire and before I noticed all but the sole and toe of one of my boots had burned. If I had been alone, it would have been easy to turn around and head back. But I wasn't alone. I had a friend with me. My friend had a roll of duct tape and an encouraging word. I rebuilt my boot as best I could and in the morning we set off up a steep scramble to attempt the summit. It wasn't easy, but we made it and the reward was great. What we experienced at the top was a view that we wouldn't have experienced in the valley. A grand and wonderous perspective.
The things we experience in life are often hard, they make us sweat, seem hopeless, or even hurt. God has promised to be with us in our journey. He has promised to sustain us. He has promised to empower us. He has given us hope. The growth and strength we experience is marked with difficulty. Our growth is limited to the amount we choose to offer to Him in faith. We have been given time, talents, and treasures. God has given these good gifts to be used for His kingdom, but also to experience His goodness and greatest. When I can accept difficulty in the moment, as growth and exercise, then it allows joy to come with the mourning.
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