Big Feet
Philippians 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
Even though I grew up in a part of Colorado where you could look for miles and miles without seeing anything, including the mountains, I was very fortunate to have parents who grew up in the ‘colorful’ part. For our holidays and any other excuse we could come up with, we’d steal away to Grandma and Grandpa Behrman’s and Grampie and Grammie Shield’s houses in the small town of Buena Vista, nestled in a valley right next to the Continental Divide. My parents, having grown up there, knew many of the interesting places to go, where we might see incredible views, mountain goats, elk, or deer, and hear stories of mountain lions and other exciting tales of growing up in the high country during the depression. There was one old road that was visible along the other side of a river from the main highway upon which my Grandpa Behrman had actually driven a stage coach up to an old mining town called St. Elmo.
It was fun to drive around and see everything, but I was also fortunate to have a father who was really into much more than just seeing. He insisted on experiencing the beauty, the steepness, the wildlife, and the fish. There were days of elk hunting, fly fishing, and just sight seeing that would take us on a long trail up through the trees and over difficult pathways to the high places where you could look far and see only mountains. It was an incredible experience each time, but there were some things that were most challenging, especially those first years of attempting to follow my Dad along the mountain trails. First of all those trails and streams and woods were hard to navigate. Then, my Dad had grown up there and was so much bigger and longer and stronger than me that there was no way I was going to keep up with him and his quest to conquer whatever we were scaling that day. It was like he was this massive giant doing things with ease that required such a great deal of effort for me to even attempt. Then he would be continually encouraging me on, letting me know that it was best not to sit down even while resting during the ascent, as it would keep your legs warm and resist tightening. Though it would seem almost impossible and I probably never could have done it alone, by just pressing on to somehow keep up with my Dad’s footsteps, there were places, tastes, smells, aches, growth, and fellowship I got to experience that I would not trade for any time of leisure and repose that might have been my option. The inspiration, motivation, and reward of the challenge met would carry me through many more steep challenges that would be part of my life, and by following my Dad (not just by his climbing example) I learned to press forward with no other option but to overcome.
To get there, to arrive, to experience, to grow, and to overcome will require an effort that sometimes might seem overwhelming and mountainous. Seeing the giants easily leap over streams and ascend rocky paths might tend to magnify weakness, frailty, and seeming insignificance, but even though our feet may never grow to their size and our feats may never seem to compare to their amazing ones, there is a way for us up that same path they are taking if we will but listen to their encouragement, lifting our feet and pressing on. It will always be good to drive around and see the sights, but to really experience the life that awaits us in God, it will take so much more than just looking for a place to sit down. As the muscles burn, our breath gets heavy, and we become light headed, there is an assurance with each Spirit followed step, that we are moving towards something that will have no regrets and no possible comparison with the alternatives. And, after some time of growing and experiencing Him, with whatever size we reach, it will be good to begin leaping, ascending, and encouraging as an example and inspiration for those that are just beginning their mountain experience. It’s about everyone going there together and finding that all things are possible when we but follow as we are shown.
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
