Last week I got to be in my happy place, spending time with my family in the mountains of Colorado where I have visited since I was a small child. It is a special place and I love getting to share so many memories and experiences with my own children: fishing, hiking, eating delicious food, and marveling at the beauty of nature. My kids are still young, and so our adventures are limited to an extent - those little legs just don’t hold up for a whole lot of miles on the hiking trails - but they sure are adventurers at heart! This summer we decided to hike one trail that we hiked last year as well. The whole thing would be a nine mile trek one way (which of course we didn’t make), but I was excited that we made it quite a bit further this year than we did last year before tiredness called for the need to turn back. Over the last year my kids have grown, getting stronger and increasing in stamina (and attention spans), and so we got to see, explore and experience more this year than we did last year.
It reminds me of how I understand discipleship as an ever-deepening process. I don’t want my walk of faith to ever become stagnant - I want to always be looking for ways to grow, develop and become stronger in faith. I know it’s not always a one-way process: sometimes I get so far and have to turn back for a season (my little legs just don’t hold up to the miles yet!). Sometimes I may stumble on the path and have to regain my balance or take the time to allow an injury to heal. And then sometimes my growth allows me to go just a little bit further along, to see, explore and experience more than I have before, to know God in new ways and be able to share that love with others more easily.
