It’s no secret; I relish hiking with my sister and have racked up multiple miles through our years on foot with some stunning scenery in my memory.

As little girls, we hiked with our dad in the summers while on vacation in the mountains. One of us always looked up in awe of the daunting task ahead, wondering if our momentum and little legs would get us to the top. When we reached the top, our faces beamed with a sense of accomplishment, taking in the view and changing our perspective with greater confidence in place.  Dad always understood why we needed to be outside and climbing a mountain every now and then; it was his quiet way of teaching us about life. When we climbed mountains, faced challenges, hurdled obstacles, and learned from difficult situations, we were reminded we have the inner strength and power to overcome life’s challenges, just like the strength and power needed to hike for the best view.

At first even a little hill may seem like a big insurmountable mountain.  When you step back and steadily work your way up it, you realize you DO have the strength and power to achieve results. After all, the mountain, no matter how big it is, is no match for your faith and desire to climb it.  Attitude and effort are everything in life (and in climbing mountains); they are the only two things we really control. Mountains are meant to be climbed. Wounds are meant to be healed. Problems and failures are meant to become learning experiences. They all serve a purpose by making us stronger mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

While we often don’t control what happens to us, we can control how we see and climb the mountains of life (attitude and effort again). We can look at mountains as being in the way or as THE WAY to personal growth and success. We always have a choice. We can stand at the bottom overwhelmed and possibly defeated – or – we can dig down deep into our personal well to find the very best resources within ourselves and fearlessly hike onward. So here’s your question today:

What mountain are you hiking and how do you find a way to gratefully accept and conquer the challenge? 

Here’s to all of us gratefully hiking the journey called life! 🙂