It Will Be Worth It

Back in February, I got the chance to have a girls' getaway on Mount Hood with some sweet friends. We had a great time going out for dinner, playing games, and just catching up, and then after spending the night in our cute little cabin, we packed up and drove further up the mountain to find a good spot to enjoy the snow. On our way, my friend Nicole made a suggestion, "Hey! What if we did a little hike to Mirror Lake? It's really beautiful, and not too long of a hike!" I was up for anything as long as I could be with friends, and our sweet friend Susan agreed with that plan, too; so we all headed over to the snowy-but-beautiful Mirror Lake trail. We made it to the parking lot and starting getting into our snow gear: layers of thick coats, snow pants, and heavy snow boots. Then we began tramping our way down the trail, stopping every now and again to stare in awe at the literal "winter wonderland" surrounding us. The trees were dripping with icicles, a pristine blanket of snow glimmered on the ground, and there was an almost-holy hush in the woods as we picked our way along the path. We whispered to each other in wonder, taking it all in and stopping to snap photos (not that any picture could adequately capture the beauty God had placed before us), and continued cheerfully on. This was the way things went for a good while, just enjoying the scenery and breathing in the crisp air, happy to be out in nature and literally worshiping God as we witnessed His workmanship. 

After some time, though, I started to feel the physical strain of wading through the deep snow in heavy snow gear; being under five feet tall does not lend itself well to traversing snow drifts, and it wasn't long before I was sweating and even gasping for breath a little! This was hard work, and I started to doubt my abilities to get all the way to the lake. I asked my friends if they knew how much further it was. "Oh, it's just a little ways! We're more than halfway there!" Nicole chirped from the front, easily stepping over a pile of snow with her long legs that I knew I would have to plow through head-first. Still, I wanted to try to make it to the lake, so I said nothing more as we moved forward. A while later, we came to the bottom of a very high hill, with the trail winding its way back and forth across it in dozens of steep switchbacks that made me literally tear up in despair. "Wait. We have to climb that?" I choked out. My friends picked up on my discouragement. "I'm sorry, Mary, I really thought it was closer!" Nicole lamented, "I think they must have had to make a new path, and the shorter one was buried in the snow..."

Do we need to go back?" asked Susan in a concerned tone.

As we were talking, a few people passed by us, coming down the trail from the lake. One of them paused, seeing the expressions of doubt we wore, and he said earnestly, "You guys are almost there! Just up this trail and over the top. It's worth it. I promise." With that message of hope, the three of us decided to continue on. I won't lie: that was the hardest hike I have ever done, and it wasn't fun. I shed literal tears of frustration and exhaustion, angry that I wasn't able to handle it more easily and seriously doubting that any view could be worth something this hard. I didn't think it would ever end as we took turn after turn after turn, winding our way slowly (I mean agonizingly slowly) up the hill. We didn't talk. We didn't notice the scenery. We just kept our heads down and plowed desperately ahead, one heavy step at a time. Finally, after what felt like hours, the ground leveled out, and we could see a clearing through the trees just ahead. We stumbled our way over the last few snowdrifts and came out on the other side of the forest, and were immediately struck dumb by what lay before us. The view was breathtaking: a glimmering clearing of fresh snow, surrounded by white-capped trees rising up on all sides. We could see the beautiful blue sky streaked with swirls of wispy clouds, and rays of sunlight fell slanting all over everything, giving it all the appearance of a field of glitter. We stood there catching our breath and staring around at everything, drinking it all in with so much gratitude and wonder, and also a resolute agreement: it was worth it.

As I think back on that day, I can see so many similarities in that journey up the hill to the lake and this season of life we are all facing. This is a hard, hard time in history. Worldwide pandemics; enforced quarantines and curfews; job loss; economic turmoil; unbelievable tales of social injustice; and so much grief, anger, fear, and confusion in the world that it literally takes your breath away. I don't know about you all, but there have been many, many times I have wished we could just go back; turn back the clock, forget we ever got on this stupid path, and go back to the security and peace of everything before this. Here's what I keep coming back to, though; it's going to be worth it. I don't know what things will end up looking like, and I don't know how it's all going to work out; but I do know this: 

• God has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)
• He will cause all things to work together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28)
• He has plans to prosper us and not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11)
• His steadfast love never ceases, and His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:21-23)
• Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed (Rom. 8:18)

I believe that God is working through all of our current events in a myriad of ways: bringing people to faith who would otherwise never know Him; drawing families closer to each other and to Him; helping us all reassess our lives and figure out what we want them to look like; and revealing things we would have been to busy to see before (like sins to overcome, skills and talents to share, or beliefs to reevaluate). And beyond the work I believe He is doing here and now, I also know that we have the hope and promise of eternal life with Him. Even if this broken world never gets better, we get to go Home to a new world where there is no sickness, no death, no pain, no hate, nothing bad at all!

I know that right now things are so hard for so many people that all they can do is put their heads down and power through one step at a time, but I hope I can encourage you, like that man on the trail to Mirror Lake encouraged me, to just keep going; while I may not be able to see or explain what God has in store for us after this season, if the view is anything close to what we experienced that day in February, I promise you all...it really will all be worth it.

"So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18