Life's a Climb

Did anyone else plan their entire lives when they were younger? I know I sure did, and I still do. Married at 21, A big wedding in my backyard with sunflowers and blue dresses, and of course cowboy boots, and LOTS of dancing. Twins by 24, and a few years later a total of 6 kids, stable job with a big house on a farm in the country, in Michigan of course, and lots of animals. Retired by 60 so I can travel and explore with my husband while we're still young. I mean seriously, I have whole Pinterest boards dedicated to my wedding, kids, house, and future.


Then we grow up and find nothing turns out the way we expected and we have no idea what God is doing in our lives or even if He is doing anything. 

Last night I had a dream or vision, whatever it was it hit me deep, right where I needed to be hit. I was up north in the UP climbing up a mountain (because we all know there's definitely mountains up there.)  Parts of the mountain were made of sand, some rock, and some ice. But before I began to climb the mountain, someone read to me, from a book of each climb, every step I would take to get up that mountain. At one point they told me I would grab on to a slab of ice, which would break off and I would slip. I would fall a few feet down, but then I would reach out blindly and grab onto another piece of ice and I would be okay, just a few bumps, bruises, and scrapes, and I would be a little scared.

Well knowing that I was going to fall and not trusting that I would be okay, when I began to climb the mountain and came to that chunk of ice I grabbed onto it, chipped it off, and threw it down the side of the mountain. 

But as it turns out, that piece of ice and slipping was the only way for me to get up that mountain. I was stuck. Then I woke up.

Life and a relationship with God is so much like that. We have to climb these huge mountains in life without safety gear, trusting God along the way. Sometimes we will slip and fall and have to blindly reach out and grasp onto anything or anyone we can find. But in the end, we'll be okay. 

All the time I just want God to tell me what I'm going to encounter on my climb through life and how I can get through/over it. But if God actually did just tell us, or show us what is going to happen in our future, we would only become like God and try to alter our path. Those rough times might scare us and we would avoid them or try to get rid of them. But in the end, going through those scary or not so fun times, might be the only way we can make it up the mountain, make it through life. 

So the next time you question God's plan for you or you're in the midst of a trying time, know that He's got you. He's your safety gear and He will ALWAYS catch you WHEN you fall.

John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the wold." 
Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."