What Goes Down, Must Come Up

During my first half-marathon last April a volunteer told me it was downhill when I turned left. I said, "then its up the big hill right?" Her response was "of course!"

That's life, isn't it? We keep going up and down hills. As I do my long runs on Saturdays this is my view as I head home. It's hard to see in the picture, but I'm going downhill with another hill right after that. There are several hills to go up and down along this stretch. I've already climbed and descended several hills like these to get to this point, since I do a loop. They are different hills, but I'm still covering similar ground.

We all want the mountain-top experiences and don't want to come down the mountain but at the same time we say that "it's all downhill from here" when we have gotten through a tough situation. We want to be at the top and going downhill, but we don't want to be in the valley (as in "the valley of the shadow of death") or going uphill. After all, we say "I'm fighting an uphill battle" when things are really difficult.

Well, we can't have it both ways; we can't be on top of the mountain and going downhill all the time. We must climb that mountain to meet God and have those amazing mountain-top experiences. And eventually, we have to come off the mountain and spend some time in the valley. The great thing is that God comes to meet us in the valley.

We can't have those mountain-top experiences without the difficult journey up the mountain. On our way up, we may fall down but someone will be there to help us up, if we let them. That is what friends and family are there for to help us climb the mountains of our lives.

Once at the top we can stay and rest in the presence of God and others will rejoice with us. But eventually we have to go back down the mountain. The trip down is easier and we are still basking in our experience as we coast downhill. Then we must spend some time in the valley, which can feel far from God. The amazing thing is that God meets us there as others lift us up and show us the beauty of the landscape around us.

Then we start up the next mountain, perhaps its a little easier and we are the ones helping others get up after falling this time. It is a different mountain, yet we have learned from our past experience. We understand the terrain better and can even enjoy the journey because we know what's at the top. We might even climb faster in our desire to rest with God again. And just like each run, where I end up at home to be welcomed by those I love and eat and rest, we will eventually end up back at home welcomed by God to stay and rest.