Climbing to the Top

      Do you enjoy hiking and climbing in the mountains? Is it easy? Well, some are more so than others especially if you are on a walking trail already created by someone else, but what about the wild, seldom explored mountains? Are you willing to do that? Why? Is it because you want to get to the top and see the beautiful view? Is it because you want to say you conquered that mountain? Or is it a bit of both?  You are not 100% sure of what to expect. Maybe it will be an easy climb, but that is highly doubtful. There will be times that it will definitely be easier than others like when you stumble upon a level little trail left by the wildlife of the mountains. But more often than not there will be trees down or huge boulders blocking the path. You may run into deep ruts made by years of water run-off that look almost like a canyon to you. And there may be steep grades that require you to find handholds to move up or sitting to move carefully down. You ARE in uncharted territory, but there is one thing you are sure of and that is that to get to the top you gotta keep moving up. And if you really want that exhilerating feeling of conquering the mountain and enjoying that breathtakingly beautiful view then you can't give up. You figure a way to get past the boulders, the thickets of brush and trees, the steep grades and even that unexpected stream. You stay alert for the wildlife, especially the dangerous ones and do all you can to avoid them.

      Is not this climb to the top a lot like life? Is our goal set to move upwards becoming better people? Are our goals set on reaching ever upward in order to gain eternal life with our Heavenly Parents? Is it easy? Are we informed of all the boulders, fallen trees, steep inclines, brush, dangerous wildlife  and streams that we may encounter? Our trials in this life CAN be compared to those difficult things we encounter in a mountain climb. BUT if we are going to make it to the top we have to figure out how to get around, over, under or through them in order to gain that breathtakingly beautiful eternal life with our loved ones! We have to keep moving step by step upwards to the summit because if we quit we will never see the wonder and glory of it all!