Eternal Perspective
This weekend I had the opportunity to go to Zions National Park and hike Angel's Landing. The hike is well known in Utah for being dangerous and difficult, but beautiful and rewarding. I'm not much of a hiker, so why I signed up to hike it I don't know. I will tell you that I'm grateful I did it, but I probably won't do it again.
We started the hike at about noon and I was already very tired. The heat was really getting to me, and as we were on the shuttle that was taking us to the trail head all I wanted to do was sleep. When we got to the trail head I looked up and thought, "why in the world am I doing this. This is going to be so hard". I could see little ant-like figures winding around the mountain making their way to the top. I felt overwhelmingly tiny and insignificant compared to this giant mountain.
We began the hike, and before we were even a quarter of the way up I was tired, hot, and out of breath. I kept going, determined that I would make it to the top no matter what. We finally made it to the "first top". It was end of the regular hiking and the start of the climbing with cliffs on both sides of you. At that point we could see our destination for the first time. It was breathtakingly beautiful and intimidating. To think that I would make it to that point was crazy! We rested for a while at this point and then continued up the climbing section. I had a renewed energy because 1) I was rested and 2) I now had a vision of my destination and it made me excited to get there.
After climbing for some time and grabbing chain after chain to keep me steady, I was extremely exhausted and dehydrated. I got slightly frustrated inside because I just wanted to be done with it already. I wanted to be at the top and see the beautiful view. It was at this point that a girl who was coming back told me that I was almost there. I trusted her because she had just been in my position and knew the path ahead. Grateful for her insight, I mustered enough energy and finally reached the top. The view from the path was beautiful and breathtaking! I could see for miles and miles. After 3 hours of being blocked by the mountain in front of me, I could finally see clearly all around me.
As I've been thinking about the hike and still somewhat digesting the fact that I actually made it to the top, I've been thinking a lot about the parallels between my experience and Eternal Perspective. Sometimes we find ourselves at the beginning of a trial or hardship and we know that it is going to be extremely difficult. The trial at hand seems daunting and exhausting. However, with determination and faith we press forward. We might not be able to see the beauty of the destination yet, but we have faith it is there. As we conquer that trial, we look up only to see another, more daunting trial ahead of us. A trial that will take all of our strength. Just as we needed physical strength from food and water, we also need spiritual strength when we are experiencing trials. We get that strength from praying, studying the scriptures, attending the temple, partaking of the sacrament, and so much more.
This spiritual strength gives us the stamina to endure the trials we will experience next. On the second phase of the hike that is particularly dangerous, there are chains along the way to help you keep your balance and climb. In life those chains represent the scriptures, prayer, and those things that will give us strength. It's important to continue to gain spiritual strength and nourishment even during trials. If we grab those "chains" we will be stable and grounded in the Gospel.
There comes times in our lives when we might feel frustrated and exhausted. We just want to be done already. That is when the Savior comes to us and reassures us that we will indeed reach the top. He gives us hope and renewed energy just as that girl gave me reassurance that I was almost to the top of the mountain. We can trust in our Savior and His words of reassurance because He has climbed the mountain too. In fact, He walked the exact same footsteps that I walked. He knows how hard it is, but He also knows the joy and peace we will experience when we reach the top.
When we finally reach the end of a trial we finally are able to see clearly. In hindsight we can see why we needed to experience it and who we became in the process. When we are experiencing a trial it's hard to see the Eternal perspective. It's easy to become too focused on how hard it is, and not on how the journey can make us stronger.
Rather than being blocked by mountain, we should strive to always have an Eternal perspective. I want to work on seeing my trials the way God sees them. He sees the big picture, much like I saw the "big picture" when I reached the top of the mountain.
We started the hike at about noon and I was already very tired. The heat was really getting to me, and as we were on the shuttle that was taking us to the trail head all I wanted to do was sleep. When we got to the trail head I looked up and thought, "why in the world am I doing this. This is going to be so hard". I could see little ant-like figures winding around the mountain making their way to the top. I felt overwhelmingly tiny and insignificant compared to this giant mountain.
We began the hike, and before we were even a quarter of the way up I was tired, hot, and out of breath. I kept going, determined that I would make it to the top no matter what. We finally made it to the "first top". It was end of the regular hiking and the start of the climbing with cliffs on both sides of you. At that point we could see our destination for the first time. It was breathtakingly beautiful and intimidating. To think that I would make it to that point was crazy! We rested for a while at this point and then continued up the climbing section. I had a renewed energy because 1) I was rested and 2) I now had a vision of my destination and it made me excited to get there.
As I've been thinking about the hike and still somewhat digesting the fact that I actually made it to the top, I've been thinking a lot about the parallels between my experience and Eternal Perspective. Sometimes we find ourselves at the beginning of a trial or hardship and we know that it is going to be extremely difficult. The trial at hand seems daunting and exhausting. However, with determination and faith we press forward. We might not be able to see the beauty of the destination yet, but we have faith it is there. As we conquer that trial, we look up only to see another, more daunting trial ahead of us. A trial that will take all of our strength. Just as we needed physical strength from food and water, we also need spiritual strength when we are experiencing trials. We get that strength from praying, studying the scriptures, attending the temple, partaking of the sacrament, and so much more.This spiritual strength gives us the stamina to endure the trials we will experience next. On the second phase of the hike that is particularly dangerous, there are chains along the way to help you keep your balance and climb. In life those chains represent the scriptures, prayer, and those things that will give us strength. It's important to continue to gain spiritual strength and nourishment even during trials. If we grab those "chains" we will be stable and grounded in the Gospel.
There comes times in our lives when we might feel frustrated and exhausted. We just want to be done already. That is when the Savior comes to us and reassures us that we will indeed reach the top. He gives us hope and renewed energy just as that girl gave me reassurance that I was almost to the top of the mountain. We can trust in our Savior and His words of reassurance because He has climbed the mountain too. In fact, He walked the exact same footsteps that I walked. He knows how hard it is, but He also knows the joy and peace we will experience when we reach the top.
Rather than being blocked by mountain, we should strive to always have an Eternal perspective. I want to work on seeing my trials the way God sees them. He sees the big picture, much like I saw the "big picture" when I reached the top of the mountain.
Hope you enjoyed!
Simply,
Kenzie M
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