Friday, November 17, 2017

Life (Hiking) Lessons

Now that the foliage is gone, you'll probably enjoy a few peeks at flaming foliage as much as I did.  Technically, it's still autumn, right?


Remember how I was so excited to enjoy this trail with the Rugged Mountain Man?  
We were happy to bring the girlies along this time.  


I love that hiking reinforces so many terrific life lessons.  


We like this avenue for teaching the Blossoms to be mindful, to pay attention, to truly observe.  


We love that relishing God's creation, points us to the Great Creator.


We love that hiking helps us learn how to do hard things, how to really persevere.  


It's practicing perseverance in little step-size bites.  


At some point in every hike, someone hits that place where they just don't want to go any further.  


We're out in the middle of nowhere though.  There's no choice.  

You just have to keep going.  


You can whine.  You can complain.  You can cry.  (Yes, it happens.)  


But, the only way back to the truck, is to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  


There's so many situations in life where this can apply.


Think of how many women proclaim in childbirth, "That's it.  I'm done.  I'm going home."  


It doesn't work like that.  


There's so much in life that you just gotta go through.


You have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  


Many times you find out that you've got a little more to give than you think you do.


You really CAN go another step.


When the Blossoms "hit the wall," we usually come along to encourage and to energize.

Maybe it's a piggyback ride for a minute or two, another sip of water or a reminder that there's ice cream at the end of the trail.  Whatever form the encouragement takes, they do not hike alone.  


Perhaps you've come upon some hard things that must be done.  


You are not hiking alone.  


The only way is probably straight through.  


Keep hiking...


...And smile a little too.

(Blossom3 and Blossom4 are each in their own way admiring 
our favorite massive oak tree along the trail.  To each her own.)