Stop and Look

My eyes locked on the rocky path before me, I carefully put one foot in front of the other. I searched for steady footholds because the wind blew so strongly across the mountain ridgeline that I seriously feared being blown over, and the narrow path with steep valleys on either side below did not allow much room for error. I leaned my body against the wind just to stay upright, and I focused my concentration on the path ahead.

An occasional glance at the peak up ahead getting closer and closer motivated me to keep going. 

For the most part, I kept my head down and my eyes fixed on the uneven ground, but every once in a while, I would come to a flat spot to catch my breath, and I would look up. 

The view would take my breath away, because only when you look up every now and then can you see just how far you've come. It's easy to trudge along with your eyes to the ground and forget just how much progress you have made. When you stop and lift your eyes, you see the height that you've reached, the valley where you came from where the other hikers look like tiny figurines, and the wide open spaces all the way to the horizon that were previously invisible. 

It's like the sky opens up and the horizon spreads out and the terrain deepens...and your eyes dart back and forth as you catch your breath because you want to see it all at once but you just can't. You feel so contentedly small.

Looking forward towards the final destination definitely pushes you forward, but so does looking back and seeing how far you've come. It reminds you where you can from and how much ground you've gained. Plus the view is more and more spectacular with every single step of elevation change. All of this gives you strength to carry on. 

This happens to me every once in a while. After I've been trudging along for some time, fixed on my feet and pushing forward with breathlessness and hopefulness (like don't stop me when I have momentum and adrenaline), the Lord reminds me to take a breather and look. And when I take a moment to look back on the path on which he has led me, I'm thoroughly astounded at just how far we've come while I had my head buried in the dirt. 

Perhaps it's time that we all stop to take a breath. Look up and out and around. See how God has lead you and the heights to which he has brought you, and take a moment to soak up the new view. It's been a tedious and sometimes treacherous climb to get up here, I know. There have been peaks and valleys along the way, I know. You're out of breath and your muscles are burning, I know. You're not even to the top yet, I know. Maybe you are even in a saddle or a low point on the climb, and the horizon is hidden. Maybe you've stumbled and taken a few steps backwards or even had a fall. Still, stop pressing onward for just a second and look two directions. 

First, look forward. Look towards the peak, the summit, the final destination. It's not as far off as it once was, and it's calling you to keep climbing until you reach the top. Second, look out and see how far you've come. May the past push you forward, may the summit call you onward, and may your feet keep taking you upward as you press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called you heavenward in Christ.