3 hours of a sleep and a sprained foot. That’s what I was dealing with when I hiked a mountain in Costa Rica last week.
We arrived in Costa Rica around 3 am, got to bed close to 4am, woke up a 6:30 am to hike a mountain. AND, 3 weeks ago I sprained my foot; it’s still swollen, and I’m supposed to be wearing a boot.
Sounds tough right?! And like it was a blast of fun right?! Well, it was! I had so much fun hiking, but it was probably one of the hardest hikes I’ve done. And to add, the Lord taught me something on this hike.
I probably should have started off telling you that the name of the hike was, The 3 Crosses Hike (I don’t know if that was the actual name of it), but that might have given away what the Lord taught me. As we were hiking, getting to the first cross wasn’t too bad. It was difficult but not bad.
[cross 1]
Getting to the 2nd cross was a completely different story. As we started hiking to the second cross, I was pretty much left in the dust. Everyone was moving a lot faster than me, but I’m so thankful for Donald staying behind and hiking with me. When going to the second cross, my foot began to hurt (I could feel it and see it swelling up), I was starting to feel dizzy (I accidentally gave my water to someone that was way in front of me), my legs were pretty much jello, and getting to the second cross involved a little bit of climbing on the terrain.
As we were going, all I could think of was how tired I was and how I was never going to get there! The cross just seemed so far away. I never knew how much farther I had left. However, as I was hiking, I had to have faith that I was going to make it to that next cross. I had to keep my eyes on the cross.
[cross 2]
I was reminded that not just in the hiking but also in life, that no matter how hard life gets, keep your eyes on the cross. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He will get us through whatever comes our way. It might be hard. It might be the most difficult thing you’ve done. It might be uneasy and out of your comfort zone. It might involve growth and lessons that we might not necessarily want to learn, but we need to lean on Him. Keep our eyes on Him because He WILL get us through.
So just like I didn’t think I would make it to the cross (well I knew, it just didn’t seem like it), I know I’ll make it through what trials come my way whether I feel like it or not. All I need to remember in that time is Jesus. He is greater than anything that comes my way. He loves me so much to guide me through what comes my way. And He will never leave my side.
And the same is with you. He will never leave your side, and He is there with you in every situation.
All of this brings a verse to mind.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
Jesus is the AUTHOR and PERFECTER of our faith. How amazing is that? He has and is still writing our story. He is writing our faith journey. He is perfect. And He died on the cross for YOU and for ME. And not only did He die to forgive us of our sins. He had joy doing it. That’s so hard to wrap my head around sometimes, but He did. Jesus died having joy. Why wouldn’t we want to fix our eyes on Him? Let Jesus be the focus of all that we do and during the good times and the bad.
Let’s fix our eyes on the cross.
reflections of a girl on mission. 