Hiking

Last Thursday I went hiking to Romero Pools in Catalina State Park. I love that hike. It is about 5 miles round trip. Not hard but enough elevation change and rockiness that it is fun and slightly challenging. Near the end of the hike there is a point where you can look down on to the pools and hear the water running. I love that part. You still have about 20-25 minuets of hiking before you actually reach the pools but you can see and hear them. It reminds of walking with Him. There are so many times where we get a picture of where we are going in life or where God is calling us to: college majors, career decisions, future spouse, etc. etc. But there is still work that has to be done before you get to the end goal. The last 20 minuets before the pools have a little bit of everything; up hill, downhill, switch back sections. It has some interesting, ankle attacking sections. That’s not a negative, it just is. When you finally get to the pools you are rewarded with some beautiful scenery and more than a few glorious sand bars in which to nap in the shade. Kinda like in life, there are hardships in the way of getting to the final destination. Yet I would venture to guess that if it weren’t for those hardships and “ankle grabbers” the destination would not be as fulfilling. Hardships create memorable experiences and those experiences create faith. I have hiked Romero Pools multiple times before last Thursday so I knew from experience that the pools were just 20 minuets from the first time you encounter them. Likewise I have been through hardships in life and have seen God bring me through them, thus creating experiences that are basis to strengthen my faith that He will take care of me in the future. That faith comes from hard time. 1 Peter 4 talks about the joy that should come from suffering. It builds and strengthens your relationship with Christ. And that is the purpose of being a follower of Jesus isn’t it: to get to know him better and strive to more like Him.