Just Do Ten Steps

As some of you know, I'm a mountain guy, at least I used to be. I've done nine 14000' mountains which to serious climbers is nothing. I have friends working on doing all 52 (or 54, depending on who you talk to) in Colorado. Most of them live out there, however.

Nonetheless, I'm pretty thankful to have done what I've done, especially since most of those summits were climbed with one or more of my kids or Jackie. I'm hoping to do a tenth next summer if this body and some serious training will get me there.

However, one thing I know for sure is that once I get above say 12000' or so I'll gradually move into a new strategy, that of thinking in terms of steps or groups of steps to make it the rest of the way. The air gets thinner and thinner, so breathing becomes more and more of a chore.

And eventually, I get to a place where I'm only doing ten steps at a time, then stopping for a few seconds before I go on. I used to feel pretty guilty about that but then I realized that my pace doesn't need to be the same as anyone else's. Doing the next ten or so steps became enough for the moment and enabled me to keep going to the summit.

And like I said, it got me up nine of them.

You see, it's a lot like the personal mountains we all face. The summit appears overwhelming if that's only what we focus on. But when we take on our mountain in smaller increments, especially as the altitude gets higher, the challenge isn't so great and we will have motivation and strength to keep going.

Ten steps. Or five. Or one.

What mountain or foothill are you facing today that has you overwhelmed and almost stopped in your tracks? Think about just taking the next step or two or ten. What would that look like? What could you do to get even slightly closer to your summit or just up the next switchback? What would it take to give you a taste of success again and keep you going?

And if someone is willing to walk with you, that's even better. Psalm 37:23 says, "The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him." Take the next step today or how about ten? As I like to say, "The view from the top is worth it?"