Life is Like a Hike

My family and I got to go camping again this weekend. It was again relaxing and revealing as I continue to seek balance and putting first things first in life. Striving for a life of purpose and making a difference.

On the last day of our camping trip (before we got rained out and went home to do what seems like endless laundry) we went hiking. We'd taken this particular hike before, but only part way. It was an uphill climb about a mile to a World War II bunker which was now covered in graffiti. We looked around and decided to head up further on the trail.

Photo Credit: Oregonhikers.org

Up and up and up we hiked till we all (minus the baby riding high on daddy's back) were breathing heavy and getting tired. The kids started to complain and I just tried to focus on making large slow and steady strides up the hill. 

It seemed like forever but we finally reached "the top" which was a flat, beautiful stretch where you could see trees on every side and the light of the sky peaking through the forest. It was pretty and we all took a sigh of relief as we walked on through the woods on a soft dirt path.

We were only on that hill top for a short while before we came to a fork in the road. Left went up, right went down. We picked down, thinking it would lead us back to the road, and it was down hill, easier, right? Boy, were we wrong.

It went down and down and my middle child began to complain again. This time saying, "I don't like down hills" lol. She also doesn't like up hills.

"You don't like up hills or down hills," I said. "You just got to learn to enjoy it. Life is full of up hills and down hills and only brief moments of flat. Find something to enjoy about all of it. It's an adventure," and we walked on.

Well, we walked down and down and then RIGHT BACK UP again... hitting our original trail that we had come from... Life is like a hike. You think your picking an easier route and heading in the right direction and, instead, you end up just taking a huge long, steep detour and ending up at your original trail instead. 

We were all pretty tired and I kept talking about the parallels between hiking and life despite whether anyone was interested or not, I found it interested. "No matter whether your on the up hill or down hill, you can always stop, look around and find something beautiful," I said as we looked at centipedes on beautiful green leaves and tiny spider suspended on its delicate web.

Photo Credit: naturalnavigator.com

"Two is better than one, for when one falls down the other can pick him back up again," I went on as my middle child sat down on the path exhausted and we were there to get her going again. 

Not long afterwards, we ended up on a steady down hill down to the road. The baby had fallen asleep on daddy's back and the girls and I got talking about Narnia and C.S. Lewis and the Mere Christianity book I had listened to.

And we made it to the other side! We made it to the road and walked back the mile or so to our car...

Mama, life is full of ups and down, detours and surprises, remember to take a pause in your day and look around and see all the beauty you are surrounded by. Those little hands and feet, those loving smiles beaming up at you, the hugs, the snuggles, the holding of little hands. It's an adventure and a very beautiful one!

Much love,

-Joy