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Climbing hills
16^th April 

This weekend it has been the wedding of a good friend of mine from University. The glorious event took place in Sheffield, the city of our higher education, and it was not only lovely to support my friend in this stage in his life, but it was also fantastic to see some old friends I’d not seen in a while. Lots of time was spent laughing and catching up, accompanied by the sunshine and the champagne! We were having so much fun that we decided to extend the celebrations to the Sunday as well (obviously minus the bride and groom!). Plans were made to meet up in the Peak District for a walk and pub lunch – a perfect opportunity to continue the festivities whilst also getting my dog some exercise too!  

Some of my friends are ardent hill-walkers and climbers. I am not. They relish nothing more than the opportunity to sprint up a mountain. I do not. They set the route, which was surprise, surprise, up a massive hill/mountain/tor/peak. This was not going to be good. I had flashbacks to my holiday in Switzerland where we had to walk up a mountainside everyday to get back to our chalet. I do the red-faced-out-of-breath look very well, but it’s not at all attractive! I also had flashbacks to the pain of aching and stiff muscles and not being able to walk/stand up properly for a good few days. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of walking, and I would even class it as something I like to do in my time off, it’s just that I prefer doing in on the flat or even going downhill – basically anyway but up! 

So off we set, straight up this massive incline, you know, the type that go on forever. As I am trudging up the slope I suddenly realise that I am not puffing and panting at the back. In fact I am at the front, chatting easily (ok, not easily. We are chatting in an out of breath distorted kind of way, but I am able to talk and walk at the same time!). In fact at times I am having to stop and wait for others to catch up! What has happened? Am I in some weird alternate dimension? How come I am not finding this climb as hard as I thought it would be? How come, although I am tired from my assent I can still move all my limbs and don’t feel like I want to die? How come I almost enjoyed going up that mountain?  

Then Toby, my dog, comes bounding up to me and I understand. For the last three weeks I have taken him out for nearly 2 hours a day walking. Well he mostly runs, but I walk! I am still overweight and unfit, but all that exercise for the dog has meant that I am also getting exercise. I am walking miles and not even realising that I’m doing it. I am getting fitter and yet it wasn’t until I was challenged by the massive climb and long walk yesterday, that I noticed the change in me.  

I must confess that I am not much of a Bible reader – it is not something that I find easy or always enjoyable (not helped by the fact that Toby recently ate my Bible! Well, some of it – he stopped halfway through Exodus!) and it is definitely not something I eagerly find time for in my day. I find prayer a lot easier. I could spend a long time in prayer but when I sit down to read my Bible I get bored and easily distracted. It is a struggle and something I often end up dreading. When I see other people around me fluent in the many verses of the great book I am red faced and out of breath at the bottom of the hill. I am spiritually unfit.  

Whether it be reading the Bible, prayer and or some other spiritual practice, it is the practice bit that’s important, perhaps more so than the spiritual bit. It is in the routinely doing of something that we begin to find it easier to do – it becomes part of our day or week, often without us realising. We slowly become fitter. We can be too close in the situation to see the change in us, but when we are then faced with challenges, difficulties, big hills, we can surprise ourselves with how we manage to cope. Perhaps our first instinct becomes to pray rather than to run and hide, or maybe we find guidance in the Bible through words that previously held no meaning to us.  

God honours our efforts even when our spiritual life feels dry and empty, even when it feels like we are just going through the motions. God is with us, changing us even when we seem to get nothing from God’s word or it feels like no-one listens when we pray. It’s not like every time I go out to walk the dog I suddenly feel a little bit fitter and able to walk further, so why should we expect to become devout over night?!  

So lets not get caught up in feeling guilty about how little time we spend with God or how much we don’t know about him and his works, but lets give thanks that he takes what we do have to offer and he uses it to his glory and to help us get up life’s hills. And remember that there are some magnificent views from the top of the hills – even if you are red faced and out of breath!