Last September, I climbed Pikes Peak, which is a 14er that lies on the western edge of Colorado Springs. It was September 28th, 2019, my fifteenth birthday. What a great way to spend the day, right? Climbing to the 14,115-summit surrounded by God’s creation sounded wonderful. My two cousins and my mom accompanied me on this birthday hike. Although Pikes Peak is not the tallest 14er in the state, it certainly is not an easy task to climb mile by mile up the side of the mountain. In fact, the trail is nearly thirteen miles of UP. Mile 1, Done: Mile 2, Done: Mile 3, Done: Mile 4, Done: Mile 5, Done: Mile 6, Done: Mile 7, Done: Mile 8, Done: Mile 9, ...Slowing down...: Mile 10...Slower and slower...: Mile 11, “Mom, I can’t go any further.” I was exhausted, nauseous, and ready to be done. I knew I was close to the summit, but I literally could not move my feet one more step. I was sitting down after taking only ten steps at a time. By this point, it was getting close to 3:00 p.m. We had to finish the hike. There was no way that we were hiking all the way back down those grueling miles. At the eleven-mile mark sign, my mom and I sat down and prayed. We asked God to show us the answer to give me the strength I needed to finish. I stood up, walked ten more steps, and sat down. I couldn’t walk another step. I was physically drained. After we had prayed, God made it apparent to my mom that I needed to eat. My body did not have any protein to pull from. At first, I told my mom that I was too nauseous to eat. After another stop, I decided that it may be worth it to try to eat something. After all, we had prayed, and God may have just revealed the answer to us. I ate some nuts, walked another ten steps, and sat back down. However, I did not sit down because I was tired, but because I was HUNGRY! I ate some more nuts along with some chocolate. Before long, we had hiked that last mile. I had hiked Pikes Peak! My family and I were so happy to achieve this together.
During my hike up Pikes Peak, I forgot, in a sense, that God would provide me with what I needed to get through the moment. Of course, it was not very fun feeling nauseous and being too exhausted to walk, but God was planning all along to use the opportunity to show His power and His faithfulness. There are so many times in our lives that it is easy to forget that God is in control. Believe me, I know. I have lost two grandparents, one to cancer. Watching my grandfather fight the cancer with the agony and pain was incredibly hard to see. I couldn’t bear to see the grandfather I loved and knew cringing in bed, wincing every couple of seconds due to the pain. The day that my grandfather finally passed away to live with Jesus, in heaven, was a hard day. Our family was now responsible for caring for my grandmother, who has dementia. Three years later and my grandmother can’t even remember who her son is, or who I am, or who my mom is. When I was younger, I thought that I was immune to everyday struggles that everyone faces. Losing my grandfather and watching my grandmother slowly slip away, memory by memory, has shown me otherwise. There is no such thing as perfection on this earth. However, when I trust God through the situation, He has never failed to supply me with the strength that I need to push through. When I place my faith in Him, struggles turn into building blocks that have built my faith to what it is today. God will never, EVER, fail as long as we trust Him in our everyday lives!