Finding Joy on the Mountain Climb

This book is bathed in scripture because throughout my health journey, God’s word has been my best medicine. Reading and reflecting on scripture has brought be through a very difficult climb, even if it isn’t over yet! I began writing this book when I realized that not only is writing therapeutic for me, but that God wanted to use my situation to encourage others and bring glory to Him. He never wastes a hurt! Plus, I had audible callings – through suggestions of friends – one in particular, whom God prompted to suggest to me to write a book. When God calls, we must respond in obedience. Plus, He would not bless me with writing ability (or this experience) unless He wanted me to use it for His glory. God uses everything that happens to us to shape us for our service to Him. It is only through knowing God that we can discover His true purpose for us and follow Him as He guides us to fulfill it. It’s not really about me anyway, because I was made by God and for God. So what would give Him the most glory and honor Him the most? He wants me to be a voice, causing others to think about Him and lead them to know Him. My health situation has changed and been more like a roller-coaster than a diagonal ascent or climb up a mountain. I have seasons of feeling good/bad and many places in-between those labels. When I have hit plateaus of healing and recovery, I kept “stalling” – having lulls in my writing of this piece. I realize now that God was carrying me through this journey - the health one as well as what I was learning from it. I had to get to certain places in my thinking and understanding of how God was at work through my affliction to see how He wanted to use it. It has been amazing to look back and realize how He was moving. I remember the revelation one day that I was waiting for ultimate healing (or so I thought) and an end to this journey to finish the book and figuratively speaking…to reach the summit of the mountain. God spoke to me that it wasn’t about a resolution, healing, or a destination. It is all about the journey, using it to help someone else, and seeking joy in the journey. That is when I decided that I needed to use my situation to offer encouragement to others and share my story. The journey is ongoing for the amount of time God gives me, so I’ll tell the story while on the mountain. Joy is found in Jesus, independent of my circumstances, even when the climb is steep. And here is the key point of understanding that God brought to me in this purpose: For it is within the battle that we find ourselves committed to what matters the most. God brought me to this mountain and will be with me on it. I had to take these steps to learn this truth, and I continue to learn as I take one step at a time with God. When there is a purpose, we find the mountain more worthwhile to climb…and with a greater dose of grace. This is my testimony, my story, and my song. Lord, help me to use my voice and purpose to be a blessing of encouragement to others who are hurting. Thank you for this journey so that I might tell my story – which is really Your story. And may I always give You the glory and the praise in all circumstances.

As a teacher, I felt I needed to have a learning objective to give shape to my writing and help me pull it together. This goal came from God’s directive and gave impetus to completing this book: to share my testimony of my health journey, and to let it speak of my faith in God and how He has guided me on my mountain journey. The “moral” of the story and main point that I hope the reader will come away with is this: God will carry you with peace and comfort over your mountain. He is the light for your path.
The mountain climbing metaphor came from so many mountain references made during my journey. In reading back through my journaling in and around the last major surgery, I found that so often I had referred to the “mountain ahead” and to “keep on climbing” perseverance analogy. I think it also felt like such a steep and heavy road ahead that as I tried to look forward it just seemed like an uphill path, and thus, a mountain. My journaling - that turned into a health update blog - caused supporters to encourage me to put this into the form of a book. I guess it was the encouragement of my fellow climbers, who were essentially pushing me onward and upward and calling back. To “call back” – when climbing a mountain it is helpful to have someone call back to encourage others and summon them toward the top. In a relationship with God, He does the call back to encourage us to keep climbing. This term also implies that one should never climb alone. Life is steep. We cannot and should not try to do it alone. We need God’s unfathomable strength and encouragement of those who are willing to step up and climb alongside us to reach the summit. In turn, we can use our own experiences to, in turn, call back to encourage others. Great is the reward of comforting others, which comforts us for our climb and journey as well. Becoming the blessing is what blesses us in return. The way through pain is to reach out to others in theirs. God does not ever want us to waste any of our experiences but use them to help and love someone else, for He always has a plan for us in every that happens. Nothing comes to us that hasn’t passed through His hand first. It is my prayer that this book will be a call back to others on the arduous climb. You are never alone.
What happens to us in life isn’t nearly as important as how we respond to what happens to us. It is all about what we do with the hand that we are dealt. I know that God has a purpose for our pathways, and there is victory in giving thanks in all circumstances and using them to do the Lord’s work. I take this purpose for writing as a way to apply 1 Corinthians 15:57, 68: “How we thank God for all of this! It is He who makes us victorious through Jesus Christ our Lord. Since future victory is sure, be strong and steady, always abounding in the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted as it would be if there were no resurrection.” (TLB) May this book be a platform from which to display God’s grace, power and love; or a conduit – a channel for witnessing, sharing what God has done through my journey, and how He uses everything that happens to us for His purposes. God is writing the story and the ending, because He is the only One who knows how it all works out and where it leads. Yet I trust Him in His purpose. He is my Author. I am humbled and honored that He has chosen me to be a part of His work. My confidence is not in myself but in God’s power that enables me to continue on my journey.