Mountains are a pretty cool thing... Ya know they look pretty, you can climb them, you can ski down them, you can live on them... There are tall mountains, short mountains, cold mountains, hot mountains, grassy mountains, snowy mountains... Mountains are one of a very limited number of things that can't just be picked up and moved. They like to stay where they're at until the earth itself gives way. And yet in Matthew 17:20, Jesus says that with faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains. And we talk all the time about moving mountains rock by rock... No doubt, there are some people in the world who have moved a few mountains of their own, whether by faith, hard work, or both. But what happens when you reach a mountain that God chooses to leave immovable? What then? Will you try to move it nonetheless? Will you walk away from it discouraged? Well, I've come up to a few of those mountains... I'm sure I'll come up against many more. But I've found that neither of those options is the right one. Sometimes, you're supposed to move on to another mountain, but sometimes you just have to climb the mountain to get to the other side.
God gave me a huge love of nature, adventure, and especially running and climbing outside! What he didn't give me... skills or stamina. (Yes, God made sure that I wasn't good enough for those things to become idols!) But this week as I was out running, I started up a really steep hill in my neighborhood. I could barely walk up it! So I'm huffing and puffing, thinking, "God, why can't this be easy? I mean I'm one of the few people who actually enjoys this!" But then I started thinking about how that can apply in other areas of my life... I LOVE science! I LOVE medicine! And yet studying for the MCAT right now is kicking my tail! In much the same way, I love music and art! I always have... But when I wanted to pursue one of the two as a career, I was told no by several people. Now, I could have shaken those "no's" off and done it anyway... But I knew that was an immovable mountain! God wanted me to move on to another one! With med school prep, I know that right now God is telling me to climb that incredibly steep mountain! But then sometimes, if you're really lucky, God lets you move the mountain!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes things are easy... Sometimes you get a free pass! And then sometimes you have it really hard! But you push through! And then there are the times when you just have to realize this mountain isn't for you... So figure it out! Face the mountain! Try the climb if you will! Try moving the mountain! You may fail some and that's okay... But whatever you do, make sure you enjoy the views!
