Over the weekend I went hiking with some friends. Now I love hiking but the trail was significantly stepper than I anticipated. As I trudged up the steep inclines I kept telling myself just to make it to the next point - the end of the of the hill, to the shady spot, to the overlook, to the curve, etc. If I had made it to that point, then it would all be over. But each hill lead to another one and each shady spot was soon eclipsed by more sun. Even when I finally reached the top, I still had to hike back down the 3 1/2 miles I just came up.
By the time I reached the top of the mountain, I had used a significant amount of emotional, mental, and physical energy so therefore coming down was even bigger toil. By the end of the hike I was done - swearing to never go hiking again, ready to fall over, and just wanted to get to my bed. That day the hike felt more like a chore than it felt like a joy.
I wonder if we live our lives like chores instead of joys, spending so much of our time just trying to make it to the next the next thing.
If I can just make it to graduation.
If I can just make it to the end of this semester.
If I can just make it to the end of the week.
If I can just make it to the end of the day.
And when we make it through the end of the day we are left disappointed because we still have get back up and do it all again tomorrow. We make it to the weekend only to realize there are only 48 hours between us and the week starting again. We make it the semester's end to find another one starts right after. We make it to graduation to find student loans, and unemployment.
We feel unsatisfied because we expected to be finished only to find another hill in front of us.
When we live with our eyes solely focused on just making it to the end we miss out on a lot and we grow tired. We grow tired because it feels like there is a never ending series of hills and inclines, of miles to travel. We thought we would be finished by now but we aren't. And when our eyes are solely focused on the end we miss all that is happening around us and life becomes a burdensome task just to make it to the final stop.
I think living our lives like this tires us out too much. We are so focused on just getting by, on counting down the hours until we can go home from work or class, we are counting the weeks until finals are over, or we are counting the days until vacation. What is in front of us isn't a challenge or an opportunity - it's an obstacle in my way of getting to the end. This way of living seems exhausting, and having lived like this it is exhausting.
There has to be a better way. God intended for us to have abundant life, not one buried down by burden. God says that his yoke is light, that he brings us to still waters for rest. So why are we only focused on the hills in front of us as obstacles instead of just what there are? Is there a way to change our mindset and fix our eyes not on our burdens but on Jesus? By fixing our eyes on Jesus we do not see the next hill, but we see our savior, our friend, and he is with us in the steepest inclines and the straightaways. I don't know if I have all the answers of how to do this but maybe by stop saying the phrase "If I can just..." might be a way to start.
