Mind Control

The cables of Half Dome. I faced them yesterday on a long-awaited hike in Yosemite. If you're not familiar with the cables, they are on the side of Half Dome, placed there so hikers can make it to the top. To say they are intimidating is an understatement.
I found myself on the cables yesterday and was surprised, even stunned at how afraid I was. The ascent on the cables is physically difficult. But I found them even more difficult mentally. The entire way up I had to fight my mind, convincing my hands to release their grip on the cables and forcing my legs to take a few more steps towards the summit. I was amazed at how powerful a negative force the mind can be.
Just a few hours later I was heading down the trail, finishing a 20 mile round trip hike, and I found myself fighting a different battle. This time my enemy was my body. Every muscle begged me to stop. I was exhausted.
As I struggled down the trail I discovered a new ally, my mind. Earlier on the cables my mind encouraged me to stop and give up, now my mind was encouraging me to go forward. "Take another step, keep going, you can do it," my mind repeated over and over. So listened, and I finished.
Same mind. Same brain. Different thoughts. One was a hindrance, the other was a help. In both instances it was a matter of mind control.
Romans 12 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will"
God, please renew my mind. Thanks.

Good Chemistry

On July 11, 1981, I stood with knees trembling, at the front of the sanctuary of Urbana 1st Baptist Church and watched in wonder as the most beautiful woman I've ever seen walked down the aisle to become my bride. 29 years later, two kids, three moves across the country, we're still in love and going strong. We've been blessed with good chemistry from the very beginning.

Our journey began in the fall of 1976, outside the chemistry building at The Ohio State University. As first quarter freshmen, we both had been closed out of the chemistry class we wanted and were forced to take a night class. This posed a problem for Sue. It wasn't safe for women to walk the campus alone at night. She had to find someone to walk her back to the dorm.

Here's where being tall and having a red back pack pays off. Sue noticed me walking from our dorm to class so after class she approached me outside of McPherson Hall and asked me to walk her back to the dorm. For three quarters we walked back and forth to and from chemistry class. By the end of our freshmen year the chemistry between us was coming alive. We've been walking together through life ever since.

I was tall and had a red back pack. And she was, and is, the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Doesn't quite seem like a fair exchange does it? Sort of like God's grace.

Sue, thanks for 29 incredible years. The chemistry has been wonderful! Amo te.

Stop and smell the roses

(This the third post of three in a series of reflections on life and hiking.)

Did you know that I spend about 95% of my time staring at the ground when I hike in the mountains? This is humorous when you consider Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places on the face of the earth, but I spend hours hiking miles with my eyes fixed on the ground.

Because the trails are usually boulders, granite stairs, up and down, and very twisty, it's mandatory I keep my eyes looking down. It's called survival. If I look up while I'm hiking, I'm inviting disaster. Trust me, been there, done that. So it's necessary to stop from time to time, look around, and appreciate the amazing scenery.

I was heading down the trail this afternoon totally focused on the ground before me, concentrating on keeping my footing sure. For some reason I stopped and looked up. And I laughed. To my left was a spectacular panorama. The mountains rose from the green carpeted forest like granite sentries watching over creation. This magnificent blessing was in plain sight, but I had failed to see it because my eyes were fixed on the dusty trail. My focus was on the task at hand and not on the blessings around me.

That's hiking and that's life. So often I walk through life totally focused on the task at hand while I miss seeing God's incredible blessings all around me. When I hike, I need to remind myself to stop and smell the roses, to stop and see God's handiwork all around me. Maybe I should do the same thing in life.

Excuse me now, I've got some roses to sniff.

Thinking

(This is the second of three blogs created from a day of hiking in Yosemite.)

For those of you who know me, you know one thing is true, I'm not shy. On every personality test I've ever taken I score off the charts as an extrovert. The tests call me sanguine, to the max. That means I'm a people person. I love being around people, I love to be in front of people, I love being loved by people. That's why my love for hiking puzzles me.

I'm beginning to understand that deep within me lies a burning need to be alone at times. (It has only taken me 53 years to see this.) For as much as I'm an extrovert, there is private introvert that dwells within me. It's that introvert that loves the solitude of hiking in the mountains.

I'm beginning to understand my introvert self needs time alone. It is during the alone times that I think. It is during these thinking times that I most often hear God's Spirit whispering to me. Which amazes me. Because most of the time my extroverted self does the thinking and my extroverted self loves to think in the midst of crowds and noise. I despise libraries - they're too quiet for me to think. I read with the TV on. I even do my sermons in Starbucks. But I think when I hike. It is then that I am alone and quiet. And the Spirit whispers.

When the prophet Elijah was suffering a severe bout of depression, God led this great leader to a mountain cave and spoke to him. God told him to stand at the mouth of the cave, for God was about to pass by. You can check the passage out yourself. It's in I Kings 19. It says there was a great wind, but God was not there. There was a great earthquake, but God was not there. There was a great fire, but God was not there. Three noisy events. And then it says God spoke to Elijah in a whisper.

Communicating through a whisper is a tricky business. It assumes that the listener is being quiet and still enough to hear. So I hike, I think, and I listen. And every now and then, God speaks.

Maybe God's Spirit is whispering to you. "Be still and know that he is God."

Motivation

(This is the first of three blogs about some reflections on life I had while hiking in Yosemite)

What do you do on your day off? I head to Yosemite and hike. Today I put in 12 miles. 12 heart-pounding, lung-busting, thigh-thumping, toe-crunching glorious miles in the mountains. Today's trek took me about four miles further than I'm used to. And I'm paying for it right now - I can barely move, my legs are so sore and stiff. But it was worth it, definitely worth it. And I'll be back up there as soon as I can find a free day.

I often wonder why I enjoy hiking so much. When you think about it, hiking is simply walking - something most of us have done since we were two. Maybe that's why I enjoy it so much. Hiking is simply putting one foot in front of the other over and over again. Not too complicated. Even I can handle that.

But I think what motivates me to hike is the challenge to finish. It's that competitive urge that lies deep within me that enjoys the challenge of finishing what I start. I find a sense of achievement in finishing a hike. It feels good to walk farther than I've walked before, on a difficult trail, at high elevations. It feels good to finish.

It's not unusual for me to want to quit in the middle of a hike. I'm tired, my legs and feet hurt, I'm dusty and dirty, and I still have another hour of hiking before I can quit. I can't stop, I'm still on the trail on the side of the mountain. But my mind says, "Stop." That's when instinct kicks in and I start placing one foot in front of the other, over and over until I finish.

It occurred to me today that life and hiking are a lot alike. Sometimes you just want to quit. You're tired, hurting, and feel like you can't continue. But you keep on going.

A wise man once said, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. " (Philippians 3:13) Finish!