Monday, August 20, 2012

Hiking the Alps

When in Switzerland, you can't help but hike! Interlaken is an excellent place to do this as its surrounded by huge mountains and has a fantastic view of the impressive Jungfrau peak. There are many hikes to choose from, varying in the amount of time it takes to do each one. We decided on hiking Harder Kulm as it has a great view of the white-capped mountains. Instead of choosing the two hour hike, we went for the four. Little did we know, we were in for the most difficult hike of our lives!

Actually, the level of difficulty is debatable. Andy says the Cinque Terre hike was more difficult because it was practically all uneven stairs going up and down the whole way. For me, this hike was much more difficult because we had no idea how much further we had to go for the majority of the hike (we were the only ones hiking this route) and the cold I had caught was sucking the energy out of me and making it much harder to breathe. We went back and forth up the steep mountain, making our way through grassy fields, thick forests and constant inclines. The sights were beautiful but I began to get focused on the final destination and just how far we had to go. My legs felt super weak, it was a hot afternoon and we had no water left. I wasn't feeling too excited about the hike at this point.

During one of our frequent breaks to catch our breath, Andy encouragingly said "just one step at a time". For some reason this somewhat cliche comment stuck with me and some realizations dawned on me. I was too focused on the final destination. So when we turned a corner and only found more steps or no sign of the peak, I got overwhelmed with how much further there was to go and how tired I was! It became really helpful to actually take one step at a time and only watch Andy's feet ahead of me instead of looking further ahead a th steep inclines. It made me think about how God directs our steps in life, but doesn't reveal our whole future. Sometimes I've felt like I just want to know what's ahead in life like who I was going to marry, if I'd get a job, where I'll be in ten years, etc. But in the same way that it was just too overwhelming to look beyond a step in the hike, it would be shocking and just too much to see more of our future. For me, this is another reminder that God's ways are so beyond us and that I need to trust his guiding footsteps. After rediscovering these truths, the next day we read Isaiah 55... check out verses 8 & 9... "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'"

 
Cool mystery situation... cabin in the middle or no where on this mountain that is open! And inside is a table and chair with a notebook where different hikers have left comments. COOL!
 
 
We sat here and caught our breath while God moved the clouds for us to see the peaks. Blessings along the journey! Also, the verse we had memorized before heading out for this hiking day was... "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'YOur God reigns!'". I forget where it is found... Proverbs though! Because of this verse, we had the song "Our God Reigns" repeating in our heads during the hike. And looking at those mountains and his beautiful creation, we couldn't help but proclaim that our God REIGNS!
 
 
Celebrating our finish... what better way than ice cream?!
 
 
- Julia
 

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