Facebook reminded me a few days ago that last year, I climbed Mt. Maculot. It was quite fitting, because for the past week or so my family and I have been trying to climb a figurative mountain.
There are striking parallels between now and my climb up Maculot last year. The clouds cleared just enough for us to glimpse Taal Lake from the Rockies, but the view was quickly obscured. Our long trek up to the actual peak was made even worse going by the paths churned into shoe-sucking bogs by the careless hikers ahead of us. Then, the return journey involved slipping and sliding through treacherous trails and actually climbing down a vertical rock face. And then there were a few false endings before we were finally safe back at our van.
We had made it back safe, but there were points in that day hike where the end seemed nowhere in sight. At times, I didn’t even know where to pass, the path was so broken up or the trees so close in I couldn’t see ahead.
I can’t go into specifics because it’s not my story to tell, but it’s been a week of vigils at the hospital, followed by a celebration of new life. Then, worst-case scenarios have kept coming to pass, with seemingly no end in sight. We’re still living it now.
Obviously, there’s only so much that exercise can do to help anyone cope with stress. At a certain point, all it can do is cause even more stress. It’s why I’ve tried to keep moving through the week, but haven’t beaten myself up about only getting to run once (and even then, only for 15 out of 30 minutes). What’s more important is to stay healthy so I can be strong because my family needs me to be. But I would really like to ask for your prayers for us, because it is a very difficult time and we have no idea how we’re even going to climb this metaphoric mountain. Then, God reminded me that even with faith as small as a mustard seed, you can command the mountain to move.
