Downhill…
There are these moments when my friend out of the blue will send a text to go on a hike and it’s always in the right moment. Usually, one of us is needing to be vulnerable so that we can speak from the heart. In reality maybe it isn’t that deep as it is normal to be able to be vulnerable with your close friends, but still, it takes practice to practice vulnerability. Anyways this weekend was that random text, “hey you down for a hike?” As long as I don’t have any prior engagements I am usually down to go for a hike, because my friend always picks a good spot. We both are into fitness so we like something with a challenge that will make us work for the beautiful views and sounds of silence. This hike fit exactly the experience that was needed.
To be honest I was going on this hike to get in a good workout and hangout with a really good friend of mine. See, this friend is the type of friend that when you leave them you walk away with something because they just add value to you. So, on today’s hike I really wanted to be there for my friend, I even asked her, “is there anything I can help you with?” As always, she answered no, but thank you for asking. As we both started the hike, we both realized this is going to be a straight incline the whole way, with no areas flattening out at all, over an hour of uphill climb. After my initial shock is gone we start our hike, and it is amazing. In all honestly I love climbing up the mountain as I get to drive my legs into the ground as We tread up this mountain step by step. The uphill part of this climb was easy for us both. We both used our current fitness training to help us get through the pain. We knew we have been here before and nothing was going to stop us.
The downhill was a different story for the terrain didn’t change but the direction I was heading was affecting my traction. While going uphill I was able to control my traction, I knew where my footing was going to be the best. But downhill was a bit more of a slippery slope, and maybe my shoes aren’t the best to lead but have my friends back. As we descended down the mountain, I realized that my friend’s shoes were better equipped to lead us down this mountain especially with it being so dry. The dirt beneath our feet going downhill was extremely lose, but with the right shoes the right traction led to the right steps. All I had to do was follow their lead and have their back.
In life we hit our downhill moments. Moments where everything is going good and things are just coming easy. As you run down the hill of life we must also remember that we also go through seasons. While we’re climbing up that mountain planting a step of faith along the way we were also planting seeds in the ground. Once ripe we run down the hill collecting our harvest and blessing those with our gift, but we have to be careful. While going downhill might be the easiest and the fun part of the hike, it is also the part of the hike that can get out of control. We can spend our time running down the hill out of control unable to stop our legs until something, anything gets in the way.
If I didn’t have my friend with me to help me get down the mountain in a controlled fashioned it had the potential to be bad. To be honest I don’t know what would have happened, maybe nothing or maybe something. I do know that I needed help downhill, and I needed someone who could help me control my steps down this mountain while I take in all of God’s glory and beauty. Such in life as we get ready to go downhill enjoying all of God’s glory and beauty sometimes we need someone who already has some self-management, some self-controlled traction already in place to be our guide as we say Thank You!
