Climbing Up the Mountain

We never really thought we'd climb a mountain...

If you know my wife and I, the one thing that would be obvious to you, is that we are not the most outdoorsy of people.  So it wouldn't surprise you that climbing a mountain was nowhere to be found upon our list of things that together we must accomplish...But that's exactly what we did in more ways than one.

Now to be honest, climbing a mountain is not something that we intended to do.  In fact, it's not something that we ever thought would happen.  But that's exactly what we've done.

Climbing is hard work.

I'm pretty sure that you could guess that climbing a mountain isn't easy.  It takes a lot of effort.  There is no short cut to the top.  It's hard work.  In order to make it to the top, it took us pulling together, encouraging each other, helping each other every step of the way.  We had to work as one, or Team Gage was not going to reach the pinnacle.

Our marriage is the same way.  We have learned throughout the past year, that if we are going to make it to the top in our relationship, we must work as one, we must be one.  The good news is, that is that based upon God's word, that is exactly what we are, one.  The bible says that we are one flesh.  And because we are one flesh, it is crucial that we work together, pulling together for the good of the team of one, Team Gage.

One Step at a Time.

You've probably heard the old adage, "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time."  It's the same with climbing a mountain.  How do you climb a mountain?  One step at a time.  We made the decision that if we were going to make it to the top of the mountain, we were going to take it one step at a time...in the end, if we were diligent, these little "one steps at a time" would end up taking is to the top.  And that's true in marriage as well.

How do you create and sustain a happy, healthy, God centered marriage?  One day at a time...We all know that the idea is that we will be together until death do us part.  We all see believe going in that we will get married and then live happily ever after...The truth is it takes a lot of days to make up those fifty years.

We decided this year that we would take each day to try and be the best husband, the best wife that we could be...We decided that we would strive each day to give our marriage our very best to honor each other, and our marriage.

And in the end, we would string together fifty or so years of one day at a times.

On a wing and a prayer.

To be honest, given the circumstances, I would say we didn't have much of a chance of making it up that mountain.  We've all heard the phrase describing the pilot coming in for landing with a damaged plane who is said to have made it on a wing and prayer...When you take into account the asthma, and the fact that neither of us had trained to climb a mountain, I would say that "wing and a prayer" described us perfectly.

However, in our marriage, we have found something better than a wing and a prayer to help us reach the top.  We call it "a prayer and a promise".  Because the bible instructs us that today is the day that God has given us, and that we are to give no thought for the morrow, we make promises to each other for today.  We invite God into our marriage each day through prayer, and then we promise each other what we will be for each other today.  For example, each day I promise my wife that I will love her today, that I will cherish her today, and that I will flirt with her today, and think about her today, and that I will chase her today, and on and on...And when tomorrow comes, we do it all again.

We're reaching the top on a prayer and a promise.

Which Mountain Did We Climb?

The picture at the top was taken when we set out to climb Stone Mountain outside of Atlanta, Georgia.  And while it may be the world's largest exposed granite formation, it truthfully isn't all that tall.  However, no matter how big, or how small the mountain may seem, it can still be a daunting task.

In marriages, there are many mountains.  Whether the mountain is a Financial Mountain, a Trust Mountain, a Communication Mountain, a Lack of Desire Mountain, Complacency Mountain, or Mount Restoration, one thing is crucial...The only way to make it to the top is a commitment to never stop climbing.

John 16:33 ...In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

We can tell you this, there is NOTHING, that Jesus can't help you overcome.