Embrace the hills!

I'm away for the weekend with the family at Bear Lake, NC.....truly God's country. While the rest of my family slept the night away in a beautiful Yurt (a circular domed dwelling that is portable and self-supporting; originally used by nomadic Mongols and Turks), I slept in an open air lodge (so as not to wake them in the AM) under the stars and rose at 6:30 AM for a run. Having no idea where I was going, I just headed for an out and back on the only paved road around. It starts climbing.....and a mile later I'm still climbing.....and another mile in I'm STILL climbing. Five miles later, I reach the peak. Along the way, I'm cursing the fact that I'm not getting a break.....the hills were relentless, my legs were screaming, and as the air was getting thinner my lungs were on fire. When I finally did crest the hill (MOUNTAIN!), the sunrise and the views were incredible. I turned to tear into the downs and enjoyed the faster pace coming home. Along the way, I thought about the beauty of hills for runners - I lived in the flatlands of Chicago for 5 years where you can't find a hill if you tried. For five years, I ran fast but never gained the benefits which come from hill work. My muscles were conditioned to do one thing - run fast on a flat course. I remember heading to Boston to run the Marathon and paying the price - the hilly course killed me! My body hadn't been hill tested, and the course won. In fact, the only times I have ever "beaten" Boston and posted decent times was when I trained on the hills of Pennsylvania or North Carolina. Here's the lesson.....the hills make you stronger. They develop muscles (hamstring/quad/calf) which otherwise would not get worked. Hills force every part of your body to work harder. Come race day, when the real test arrives, you are prepared. In life, we're faced with "hills"....struggles, trials, and tribulations. We naturally despise the tough times and wonder why we have to face them. But they make us stronger , as the Bible reminds us.....

“Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4).”

Our life's suffering and those moments which seem to drain us of hope and bring us to the depths of despair are not permanent. There is no such thing as an endless hill. There is always a crest, and always another side where the pressure and pain let up allowing us to enjoy the fruits of our efforts and struggles. And when we do encounter those hills again, we've been battle-tested and we are better prepared to withstand the trials. If we seek (through the path we choose) a run without hills or a life without trials, we're never fully prepared for the challenges which inevitably come our way. And we also never get to experience the views from the top! So let's learn to embrace the hills, welcome the suffering which often comes our way - knowing that in the end, we will be better for it....Keep the Faith. BELIEVE.

PHIl 4:13