1/4 Mile to Go

My wife LOVES to go on day-hikes. 

I LIKE to go on day-hikes.

The difference is, I NEED the exercise and hiking is a preferable means of torture. 

We are blessed to live in an area that has world class hiking trails a short distance from our house.  I say “blessed” because if I have to leave the safety and comfort of my LazyBoy recliner, then it must be for scenery that is breathtaking and exhilarating.

One of my favorite trails is “about” 6 miles.  It leads to the top of a breathtaking peak (breathtaking literally due to the climb) where you can see majestic Mountain Ranges. 

Once at the top of this hike, there is an old 1914 Forest Service fire lookout cabin that is still standing.  It is a small one room log structure that doesn’t have but a few years of life left in it but it represents a time when this was truly the “wild west”. 

A few short miles south from this hike is a magnificent hike that is advertised as a “day hike” but when I do it, you need a calendar to keep track of me. 

The hike is, honestly, grueling and is about 12 miles round trip.

Last time my wife and I meandered the magnificent hike, when we got to the 6 mile point, we were both “out of gas”.  I was ready to write out my will and wait for the bears. 

On the way out, Michele would say, “How much farther?” 

And I would always reply, “1/4 mile to go”. 

This went on for a long long long time.  At some point, we lost our sense of  “Ha-Ha” and she quit laughing at my “1/4 mile” comment.  In fact, if I didn’t know better, I would say it irritated her.  But I could be mistaken. 

However, there was a method to my madness. 

If Michele had said, “How much farther?”

And I replied, “32 miles to go”. 

We would have instantly become overwhelmed by the task facing us and suffered discouragement.  However, by breaking the task down into bite-sized pieces, she eventually beat me back to the car.  

So what is our spiritual take-away from this adventure? 

“Do not become distracted by regrets from your past.

Do not become discouraged by fears for your future.
Keep your eye on the work God has placed directly in front of you.”

“dear brothers and sisters,

I have not achieved it,
but I focus on this one thing:
Forgetting the past
and looking forward to what lies ahead,
I press on to reach the end of the race
and receive the heavenly prize
for which God, through Christ Jesus,
is calling us.”  Philippians 4:13-14