My sneakers were covered in the trail dust. My knees and legs were burning. The worst part was that my socks were sinking into the backs of my shoes and bunching up under my heels. I had reached down so many times to irritably yank them up that I literally had ripped holes in the backs of my socks. With frustrated tears pricking the corners of my eyes, I plopped down on a large rock on the side of the trail, done with the hike!
The trek up to Castle Crags in Northern California should have been a fun family outing, but as a result of the mosquitos, the heat, my worthless socks, and the fact that my four-year-old legs were tired of walking uphill, I was done! I sat on the rock defiantly while my mom stood next to me saying all the things in the sing-song voice like mothers do to motivate weary, whiny children and waving her arms in “come on, get up” motions.
I swatted a mosquito that landed on my cheek and tried to reason which was the best way out of this hot and bug-laden climb. I looked down the trail that we had hiked from the trailhead, which seemed to be a million miles away now. Staring down that dirt path through a tunnel of trees and foliage, I considered bolting down the trail toward the bottom of the mountain, but I knew I would earn some unwanted punishment from my parents for that. It also might mean I still would have to hike back up to where we were headed anyway.
While my mom was still talking, her words of encouragement tinged with exasperation at my stubbornness, I looked up the trail to where my dad and brother were walking leisurely and happily. They were swinging sticks, stopping to look at bugs or leaves, and genuinely enjoying the journey up the mountain. Certainly, their legs were tired like mine. Perhaps their socks were sliding into the back of their shoes, too. (The thought made me grit my teeth.) However, they showed no signs of defeat, irritation, or a desire to quit. In fact, they had not even noticed that Mom and I had halted and were no longer in step with them on the hike. They were absorbed in the joy of the journey up the trail to Castle Crags.
Then, I turned toward the side of the trail that faced the drop-off to the valley below. Across the sweeping, green valley dotted with lodgepole pines stood the sheer side of Castle Crags. The granite spires towered like the front of a gothic, medieval cathedral. Even in my simple yet frustrated preschooler mind, I could see the beauty and could almost understand why my parents had started this hike in the first place. I found myself wanting to see that monolith up close and to stand on its outcroppings to view the valley and surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains.
Looking back at the already-hiked trail, I sensed the mounting frustration of the last hour of the climb. Looking ahead, I felt the joy of my dad and my brother happily anticipating the completion of the hike and the resulting reward of the beautiful view. I leaned down and pulled off my shoes. My mom’s words of encouragement changed to a desperate “What are you doing?!”
I peeled off the problematic, holey socks and shoved them into my pockets. Putting my dirty sneakers back on my weary, bare feet, I looked up at Mom and said, “Okay, I’m ready to climb the mountain.”
Staring down the past mountain trail of our lives can be a mixed bag of emotions. Some may momentarily remember the triumphs but then mourn the things that never came to pass. Some may find that the feelings of defeat and disappointment come rushing back to them. We all have heard variations of the quote which says, “Stop looking back; you’re not going that way!” Cute saying or not, this is true! Why look back at a journey we cannot change or redo?
The Bible says in Philippians 3:13, …but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, Paul was not interested in reflecting on the past but was focused on the future, so much so that he was encouraging others in this letter to look ahead and to focus forward! In the next verse, Paul continued, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. His perspective was not based upon what could have been done for Christ but upon what is yet to be done for Christ!
Yes, 2024 has been quite the year for all of us. Looking back, there certainly would be things we would do over and change. However, why are we looking back and not ahead? We are going forward, whether we want to or not, and it is up to us to make it count for Christ. Instead, let us remove the things that are hindering us from climbing up the mountain toward the …prize of the high calling of God… and begin hiking once again!
Subsequently, in these early hours of 2025, I encourage each of us to take a moment to sit down on that rock by the trail of life. Take off those socks that are bunched up in your shoes and are holding you back or are in your way. Now put the shoes back on and continue hiking! The journey is not always easy, but the endless eternal rewards are worth every single mile. 2025 can be the best hike of your life, as long as you are looking up the mountain!
by Tracie S. Burns
