ALL I REALLY NEEDED TO KNOW I LEARNED FROM A MOUNTAIN

I had heard about Hungry Mountain at least three hundred kilometers before I ever encountered it.  "Quite a hill!  Don't be afraid to walk your bike up it--it's pretty long and HIGH!" Shortly outside of Houston, BC we were formally introduced. Hungry Mountain was a lot taller than I had imagined.  I wondered how many cyclists it had eaten and spit out.  

Nevertheless, that mountain with its upwardly undulating peaks became a great teacher for this skinny preacher. Here's what what I learned about climbing and life during the hour Hungry Mountain and I conversed:

• DON'T PANIC.  The first thing we do when we first see a daunting challenge is to panic.  Yikes!  I can't do this, there's no way.  I'm outta here!  But don't take the easy flight exit out of formidable obstacles.  Don't run! Remember what Winston Churchill said that Barnes and Noble has recycled:  "Be calm and carry on."

• KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON THE LARGER GOAL.  All around me, a flurry of activity swirled--big logging trucks flying by within inches of my bike, construction signs that blocked my forward advance, debris on the road, and noise levels that unnerved me.  So easy to get distracted by the energy and "noise" around us that we can lose focus on the larger goal.  So I forced myself to fix my focus on the top of the five mile mountain.  I kept everything else in my periphery so I could dodge or duck if I needed to, but I kept focused on the ultimate goal--getting on top of that mountain.

• LISTEN TO YOUR BODY.  Menno and Rick are good at listening internally.  They will stop mid-mountain climb to get their heart rate back down and catch their breath. So I've learned from them to listen to my body.  For example, if you hear a crackling sound, that's your knee cap exploding or that snap and ping sound may be your cartilege and tendons separating. One translation of a verse from Psalm 139 says, "the Lord knows where we need to stop and rest."  I really believe that.

• BE A SELF-COACH.  Keep telling yourself to be calm and carry on.  Keep speaking hope into your consciousness as you scale your mountain or obstacle.  Confession and encouragement are amazing tools when the going gets touch.  So congratulate yourself for every gain you make.

• ENVISION YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENT. See yourself cresting the summit. Imagine the exhileration that comes with great accomplishments.  See a friend, a wife, a husband, a sibling standing on top, cheering you on. That's what the writer of Hebrews did to encourage the beleaguered Christians of his day--"seeing you're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses let us run the race set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).  

Eventually I scaled Hungry Mountain and lived to tell about it!  You can to when you face your own hungry mountains by refusing to panic, keeping your focus, listening to your body, being your own coach, and imagining your achievement.