Hiking and Giving Up

We’ve been in Cinque Terre Italy for the past few days, hiking the ancient trails on cliffs between and around five incredibly colorful charming villages that cling to rocks over the Mediterranean Sea like a 6-month-old baby clinging to his momma.  On some parts of the trail there are worn steps that are many hundreds of years old. Other places it’s rocky and as narrow as your foot.  One wrong move and you’ll tumble straight down into the sea.  

The first day as we hiked 1,000 steps straight up, hearing fellow travelers speaking German, French, Italian I thought of the pilgrims of the Bible and the Psalms of Ascent that they sung on their way to Jerusalem.  I wondered if the singing was their way of practicing the presence of God.  Or to remind each other of God’s faithfulness on the tough stretches.  Or if it was to encourage each other – to say to each other “you’re not in this alone!”  There were times along our way that we needed those reminders and so do others.

Then yesterday, Maggie and I hiked from Monterosso up (and I mean UP!) to the ruins of the church Sant’ Antonio.  There were many times along the way that we were tempted to give up and turn around before we reached the summit.  Most of the time hiking we were trudging up rocks through the woods and couldn’t see the Mediterranean.  It was hard to know how much further we had to go and not get discouraged.  We kept thinking around each bend we’d see the end, but nope, didn’t happen.  

 Finally we passed a German girl coming down who spoke enough English to tell us it was about ten minutes more to the top when we asked (panting out our question).  It made all the difference when we knew the end was near.  Totally changed our perspective.  The view was spectacular and we thought, “What if we had given up so close to the end?  Look what we would have missed!”

Many, many people I know are going through challenging, rocky times where the trail just seems too steep and they want to quit.  They don’t know when (or if) the path will ever get easier this side of heaven.  They (we ALL) need each other to call out and cheer each other on. 

Today I want to be the one to call out, “Don’t give up!  Keep going!” And I’m praying for my friends who are out of breath and sweaty, and tempted to turn back.  May there be small glimpses of God’s faithfulness and grace along your way, and may there be fellow travelers to cheer you on today.