Vonda and I began the year with two HUGE mountains to climb;  An impossible adoption and an impossible construction project.  We’ve climbed the tallest mountain in Colorado, Mount Elbert, 14,403 ft. and we’ve climbed the 3rd tallest mountain in Central America, Volcan Acatenango, 13,040 respectively.  Our two newest mountains were no less daunting.

This is Vonda’s view as we climb.

How is it that I could wake up with this much weight pressing down on me? I should feel relief. I should feel a sense of happiness. It’s that mountain. We can finally see the top and the view is beautiful. From here the summit is so much closer. And although the view is clear, the air is thin and the pressure pushes down on my chest.

As we climb, if we look up, we can see the sky. It just feels closer to heaven. I like that. But it’s hard to look up sometimes. The mountain is steep and the view directly in front of us is just more mountain.

I take a deep breath, and set my pack down and then turn around and take a long look. The view is big and I can see forever. I can see where we’ve been. I can see the rough and difficult spots we’ve walked. I can see the cliffs we’ve scaled. I can see now that there were a few sections that an alternate route would have been better. I study those places. I desperately want to avoid them as we continue to climb.

To the left and to the right I can see dark valleys. I barely remember hiking through them. If I sit and think, I can remember parts, but I’d rather not. Mostly I know we made it to the other side, we all made it out. We carried each other through and we have the scars to prove it. My heart pounds.

In the distance I can see nothing but clear skies. From here we can tell if a storm is coming. I don’t think there is, not today. Then someone whispers, “exposure…” Crap! How do you scale this kind of mountain without exposure? We’ll put our trust in the One who asked us to climb. I bow my head, “Lord give us the proper gear. Show us the route you want us to take. We don’t expect the safe route, we just ask that the route is with You.”

You don’t climb mountains without exposure. You don’t climb mountains without others wondering why or how. And you don’t climb mountains without help.

As the air thins, the terrain changes. The demands change. The demands on those who help us change. The demands on our bodies, our minds and our faith, change.

I believe He’ll put other climbers alongside us on the tough days. He has before. He’s so faithful. It’s true, we don’t fully understand the dangers that lay ahead, but He does. The maker of heaven and earth does. I’ll put my trust in Him.

What choice do we really have? To not walk? Not climb? To franticly search for the safest route? To sit in that cozy beautiful home in Windsor, Colorado, where the fireplace always burned? Where the flowers always bloomed? It was sweet. It was safe. It was where He prepared our hearts for this journey.

And now, here we are, high in the sky. Knowing that our help comes from the One who made this mountain. Knowing that this journey is the way we serve Him. We’ll walk the valleys. We’ll climb exposed. And we’ll trust and obey.

If you would like to climb with us, if you would like to help us complete construction, CLICK HERE.

With all my love,

Vonda