Quarter Mile from the Top
I always start hikes with a great level of enthusiasm. My pace is quick (probably too quick) and my ponytail bounces, even on the steepest of hills. Because I typically hike alone, I use an app to track my progress. It ensures that I stay on the trail and provides a resource in case the trail blazes disappear (which they occasionally do...especially in snowy conditions). But at the beginning of a hike, I don’t really focus on my phone. I lose myself in the journey. Noticing the unique moss on trees. Listening to birds or squirrels. Picking up interesting rocks. Wishing I had a bag to collect trash. My mind is completely consumed.
Eventually, I start to wonder if I’ll ever get to the top. Maybe this trail never ends. There isn’t a summit or an overlook. I’m just going to keep going and going and going, stuck in an endless loop of trees that look the same and birds that are too noisy and rocks that trip me up. That’s when I consult my phone. ¼ mile from the summit. Depending on the grade (steepness) of the trail, that might take anywhere from 5 minutes to 35. But without fail, it feels like an eternity.
Surely I’ve done enough work! I should be at the top by now. Why does the trail keep going? Can’t it just be done already? Who would voluntarily put themselves through this? I’ve earned the summit...now where is it?!?
I get a little angsty. I feel like I should be rewarded for my work...NOW. But I can’t make the summit scooch closer to my location just because I feel like I’ve worked hard enough, long enough. Trails don’t work like that. And neither does God. How many times have I gone through a hard season and turned to God yelling, “Isn’t it enough?” Have you had those moments when you couldn’t summon any more energy to work through your trials and asked God, “Can’t it just be done already?” When you can’t seem to catch a break, do you ask him “Why does this keep going?”
Sometimes, we’re just ready for the reward. Maybe you think you’ve been single for long enough. You’ve worked at a job you hated and going to work one more day just seems like too much. Or you’re battling a chronic illness and need it to stop. Y’all, I don’t know when it will end. And I don’t have a magical prayer that will suddenly reveal a reward from God. But I do have this reassurance:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
I don’t consider it joy when the last ¼ mile to a summit is the steepest part of the hike and it’s covered in snow, ice and slush. I don’t consider it joy when I’ve applied for dozens of jobs and no one will hire me because my resume is such a mish-mash of experiences. I don’t consider it joy when I have to leave a “good” guy because I know that he’s not actually good for me...and I’m single...again. How tempting it would be to throw my hands up in exasperation and tell God that I’m done...that I’ll just find my own way in this world!!
But my suffering, whatever it is, is of this world. And anything I try to do to get around the suffering is unlikely to give me the joy that I desire. Proverbs 19:21 says:
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
So I encourage you, whatever sort of working & waiting season you’re in (maybe you’re waiting for social-distancing from COVID-19 to end!), to call on the Lord. He’s doing something in you. Right now, he’s calling you to push through that last ¼ mile...it might feel like 14 miles, but he’ll be with you every step along the way. And there’s something brilliant at the end.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Elizabeth spent the past six years doing life in Nashville, TN…from grad school to working in a pie shop to running after school programs. But then she got a little antsy. She’s currently in a season of “wandering”…exploring the people, tastes and experiences that the country has to offer. As she set out on this journey her hope was to engage with people in more authentic ways and to hike everything possible. If you're curious about where she is and what she's up to, visit sunsetsstormclouds.home.blog.