Walk the Walk: On a Volcano in Nicaragua

Two roads diverged, not in a yellow wood, but in my spiritual journey. 

There are two paths, it’s really true!

One of these trails is taking you downhill, which doesn’t seem too bad. 

It’s seems like an easy walk on your tired knees. 

You can feel the wind whipping by you as your pace quickens. 

Watch out though! 

If you go too fast, you’ll tumble forward. 

Bruised and broken, you’ll be down in the dumps- both literally and figuratively. 

The other trail is uphill and it’s steep. It looks challenging 

and your chest gets tight just thinking about it. 

Your calves begin to burn as you push onward. 

You probably get tired and feel like stopping. Maybe you’re afraid 

if you stand up too straight, you’ll fall over backwards. And every few steps, 

off to the left or right, are mini-trails. They linger, tempting you to take an easier, 

but less direct course. Exhausted, but strengthened, you reach the top. 

And waiting for you is a breathtaking view.

Can I tell you that it’s the steep path you should be on? 

It’s the way to go, the trail to follow. 

It’s tough and seems more like a curse than a blessing, 

but your reward is waiting on top of that mountain.

It’s a reward that no man can buy or place value on. This gift? 

It’s life, Life everlasting. Peace and assurance. Hope. Trust. 

It’s relaxation in the Consistent Father. It’s blessings. 

It’s love, more deeply than you have ever felt. 

It’s happiness, the ear-to-ear-kind-of-smile. 

It’s jump-up-and-down-joy. 

It’s take-your-sweet-time-patience. 

It’s heaven and it is perfect.

Choose the steep hill, challenges and all, and you’ll find God at the top. 

He’s calling us, saying, “Choose life in Me, my children, and then come home.”

~~~

I wrote those words a few months before my Senior missions trip to Nicaragua. On one of our last days there, we had a “leisure day.” I put that in quotes because my leisure day consisted of hiking up a volcano. 

No, I’m not kidding. And no, I didn’t bring my good sneakers.

Nevertheless, as I’m climbing this steep volcano with a crazy incline, it hit me. I literally stopped walking and felt like I would fall over backwards. I was speechless. God was so funny to open my eyes to this steep-hill-theory and then make me walk the walk.

I laughed aloud. I kept climbing. Calves definitely burning and chest quite tight. However, as I reached the top, the view was indeed spectacular. The group could see lakes and whole cities from where we stood. We saw the beauty and could appreciate it better with our new perspective.

Yup, I took this picture:)

When the time came to walk back down, I was a little fearful. Didn’t I say how going downhill was the dangerous one?!

Some group members held hands, some angled their feet funny, and some fell down. My friend’s sister fell like 4 times. And to make us sound like bigger wimps, local construction workers were carrying (by hand) heavy blocks to be laid as a walkway. They carried these blocks up and down the volcano.

I noticed though, that no one was falling up the volcano. Sounds stupid, right? But when you serve God and are chasing after Him, He has your back. He’s helping you, supporting you, sustaining you. But when you turn your back on Him and deliberately do your own thing, why should God support your sinful actions? Don’t get me wrong, He still loves you and is calling you to return to Him... But if you aren’t for God, then you’re against Him. No one can serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24) I don't want to be against God. So I'm going to climb the steep hill, no matter how hard, for my reward is up there.

I took this one too! So breathtaking...

I lived it. On an old volcano in Nicaragua, I practiced what I preached. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I ever had. And I’m thankful. I’m thankful that God choose to reveal to us glimpses of His goodness and helps us climb the steep hill.

Be Sneaky

A part of me, much bigger than I had ever thought, likes being sneaky. Now I don’t mean “bad” sneaky, but the kind of sneaky where I do something for someone else, that no one else knows about.

I like seeing that family at my favorite diner who really needs a blessing. You know the ones I’m talking about: They may have three kids, all young, and the parents’ eyes are tired. You can just tell it’s been a rough day and they could use something to uplift their spirit. Open your eyes; you’ll notice these people everywhere. Sometimes they have a family, sometimes they’re in uniform, sometimes they just have lonely eyes, and sometimes it’s all these in one. They’re all around.

Call me old-fashioned or a creeper, it doesn’t matter. I like to sneakily tell my waiter that I’d like to pay for their meal, or a part of it. It’s fun and deeply satisfying to know that after you leave, the waiter will say, “Another customer wanted to pay for your meal. Have a good evening.” The deepest part of my heart is glad to know that the tired, breaking family is going to smile on the way to their car tonight.

So I encourage you to be sneaky every once and awhile. Don’t hesitate to bless someone in secret. If you’re recognized on earth for these deeds, you’ve received reward enough already. But if you’ll be sneaky and patient; your reward will come in Heaven, where everything is better.

Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? 

The place where your treasure is, 

is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

~Matthew 6: 19-21