Two weeks ago, my husband (Tim) and son went on Trek with
the church high school and college group.
I’m always excited for them on these trips because I know they both love
hiking the mountains in Colorado and it is always a great faith builder for
them. My prayer for them this year was
that the mountain would be so challenging that they would have to know that
they could only do it with God’s help.
Of course, I prayed for their safety too.
When they returned to base camp, I got a call from Tim
and he told me he had come back with a story that he came up with that he
wanted to tell me and the kids. If you
know Tim, that is an unusual comment from him.
To top that off, he not only told us the story, he wrote
it down. Here is it is.
I was really scared to backpack down the mountain due to
my back. I had injured my back a few years ago and had physical therapy for
bulging discs in my lower back. For the most part, I am good and just need to
keep my core body strong to keep the spine stabilized. On this trip, though, I
had a very difficult time hiking down from summit with only a day pack. It
seemed going downhill was jarring my back quite a bit on this trip causing me
quite a bit of pain.
When we started hiking down from high camp with full
packs I somehow started out right behind the guide in the very front. As I
tried to keep up with the guide I stumbled a few times but then I realized I
could try walking in his steps which should be solid since he was carrying a
heavier load and had much more experience than me.
I started stepping in his exact steps and was doing
great. It was easier on my back. I was
having no issues. I was moving fast and staying with the guide. We were moving
much faster than the rest of the group and had to wait a couple of times for
the group. It seemed so easy. I did stumble a few times but with the guide so
close it was easy to get back into step with him. He also gave me instruction
to just look for solid ground and to trust my steps and just move. With this
instruction, keeping him close and walking in his footsteps, I continued to
feel strong and confident.
As we continued down the mountain I stayed strong and
confident. As others followed behind I
felt confident in my steps and was comfortable in leading
as long as I was following in the guide's footsteps.
All of a sudden things changed. Due to some fallen trees
we had to get off the trail. When I got back on the trail I was not behind the
guide any longer. I had lost sight of him. I really wanted to be back in the
lead walking behind the guide. That is where I felt strong and confident. As we
continued, I was doing OK by remembering his instruction, "Look for solid
ground to step on and just move; trust your step." As I hiked, though, I seemed to start stumbling
more. I would remember his instruction and do better for a little bit but I
continued to get more timid and stumble more as I went down the mountain with
no sight of the guide. The guide seemed so far away and I did not pursue
working my way back to him. I seemed to
be getting content just where I was. It seemed easier to just keep the same
pace even though I was struggling. I was going to have to work harder to get
back close behind the guide and I was having difficulty mentally thinking I was
capable of doing so.
I decided to watch the person in front of me in order to
learn from their steps hoping to avoid loose rocks. Between the help of the
person in front of me and the guides instructions, I did OK again for a little
bit but then started to rely totally on the person in front of me since the
guide seemed to be so distant and I had not kept him close. I ended up getting
too close to the person in front of me and started making the same mistakes as
the person I was following. I began to get timid again and stumbling much more.
I realized I needed to stop following so close to the
person in front of me so I backed off. I still struggled since I had not worked to get closer to my
guide. I found myself falling behind and soon was alone on the trail. There
were hikers out of sight in front of me and hikers behind me which I could not
see or hear. I started feeling alone. My mind was telling me I could stop and
rest and get a drink. It would be OK. I seemed to be getting much more tired
than I was before and I seemed to concentrate on my tired muscles and
difficulty breathing. I then decided I did not want to be alone. I waited for the hikers and got a drink of
water while waiting. They soon caught up and I started hiking again. I did much
better hiking with others supporting me and fellowshipping with fellow hikers.
We continued on down the mountain. I continued to struggle though. We soon caught up with the rest of the group
who was waiting on us. We took a quick
water break and I took the opportunity to get back close to our guide.
We soon continued down the mountain and now I found
renewed sense of confidence and strength now that I was back close to the guide
and following in his footsteps. As long as I kept the guide close and followed
in his footsteps I knew I would be fine.
