I wiped the sweat from my brow, and sat on a rock nearby, breathing hard from the exertion of the climb. I grabbed a swig of water from my dusty canteen and looked around.

No view.

How long until I reach the summit, I wondered? I had no idea. I sat back on the rock, leaned my head against the dusty slope, and closed my eyes. I was tired.

I could just see – what that the sunrise? – cresting over the mountain? Renewed, and excited, I hurriedly put the lid back on my canteen bottle, tightened my loosened boots, slung my small dirty pack over my shoulder, and clamored with fresh vigor.

Hope enlivened my steps.

The weariness seemed to fall from my limbs when hope arrived, like light dissipating darkness. Darkness has no power where there is light. So the burdens of our lives fall off of us where hope lies within our reach. Or perhaps it is our muscles that grow stronger, our strength that returns, where there is anticipation.

There is no view in the valley bottom. Only the sweat, dust, and hard slogging of the climb reward us with hope. How had I been satisfied in the valley bottom for so long? I wonder at my past self, a being alien to me now. How could I have been happy with the odd pine-comb I found there, the odd mushroom, most of them rotten or poisonous?

How had I lived a distracted life for so VERY long?

I am stronger now, both physically and mentally from this spiritual climb.

You see, I am following someone I heard about.

Have you seen him?

He is the one who encouraged me to climb, to begin this journey.

There are no fellow travelers, as each one of us has our own path to follow. However, I have met many whose hearts have been knitted with mine for a time, a season, as we stopped at a cabin along the path to rest.

Is He calling you, too? Do you hear him? Come on, then, let’s walk together for a while.

The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward [hope] to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. The Message

In your moments of rest ask God, “Where have I lost my hope? Can You help me find it?”