I know that most of you are thinking about Christmas already and that Thanksgiving is old news. You might also be thinking, "What in the world does this picture have to do with either holiday?" Well, this is where our family spent Thanksgiving Day. My sister, her husband, myself and our two boys went hiking in the Franklin Mountains.
The hike was a blast. We began in McKelligon Canyon and hiked the Ron Coleman trail all the way to Transmountain. The trip is about 4.5 miles from beginning to end, and on a good day can be completed in 4-5 hours.
The Franklin Mountains aren't the tallest mountains in the world. The highest peak is only 7,500 ft. above sea level. Still, with the desert landscape offering up few, if any, trees to obstruct the view, what you get at the top is quite spectacular. That is probably what I enjoy most about hiking. What you see as you climb and especially once you reach the top can't really be experienced any other way.
I remember the first real hike I went on. I was a part of the Heartland Couples Class. Bro. Rick Williams took the men on a camping trip in the Colorado Rockies. We drove through the night, messed around the first day hiking and just taking in the sights, camped out, and preceded with hiking Hallett Peak the next day. Hallett Peak is 12,713 ft. at the summit. It’s not a terribly difficult hike until you factor in the breath taking effects of the massive altitude change.
I can’t really describe what I felt once we reached the top, nor could I begin to adequately describe the view. I have tried a number of times. I have many pictures from the various hikes I have been on, and while many of them really are beautiful pictures, none of them quite do justice to the real thing. I believe God has taught me a valuable truth from that first hiking experience that has been confirmed over and over again with each hike I have been on since. Though hiking can be hard and dangerous, there is no substitute for the journey, and the reward that waits at the top can’t be experienced any other way.
This truth applies to just about every aspect of life, spiritually this is true, mentally this is true, and physically this is true. A good marriage doesn’t just happen. It takes hard work and sacrifice to enjoy the mountain top views of a happy home. Children don’t just end up being upstanding citizens, they must be trained. That training can be inconvenient, unpleasant, and challenging, but it is necessary to experience the desired end later. When a person fails to reach their God given potential in any area typically it is because they are not willing to endure the long hard road of whatever process it takes to get there.
This truth is both convicting and encouraging. It is convicting because I can no longer excuse my failures. I can’t blame others for my situation of life. It is encouraging because it means that my situation can change. All of the sudden, when life is looked at in this light there are numerous possibilities. The only limit to what God can accomplish in me and through me is what I am willing to endure by way of the journey, the process it takes to accomplish it. The mountaintop views of being in the center of God’s will can be experienced no other way!
I really enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day journey. I was proud of my sister for making it to the top, and though most people she tells will have never heard of the Franklin Mountains she will always be able to say she did it, and that mountaintop experience will always be hers because she was willing to endure the hard journey necessary in making it there. The only down side was the cold Thanksgiving Day dinner we had waiting on us as a result of the journey taking longer than we had anticipated. What memories...
The hike was a blast. We began in McKelligon Canyon and hiked the Ron Coleman trail all the way to Transmountain. The trip is about 4.5 miles from beginning to end, and on a good day can be completed in 4-5 hours.
The Franklin Mountains aren't the tallest mountains in the world. The highest peak is only 7,500 ft. above sea level. Still, with the desert landscape offering up few, if any, trees to obstruct the view, what you get at the top is quite spectacular. That is probably what I enjoy most about hiking. What you see as you climb and especially once you reach the top can't really be experienced any other way.
I remember the first real hike I went on. I was a part of the Heartland Couples Class. Bro. Rick Williams took the men on a camping trip in the Colorado Rockies. We drove through the night, messed around the first day hiking and just taking in the sights, camped out, and preceded with hiking Hallett Peak the next day. Hallett Peak is 12,713 ft. at the summit. It’s not a terribly difficult hike until you factor in the breath taking effects of the massive altitude change.
I can’t really describe what I felt once we reached the top, nor could I begin to adequately describe the view. I have tried a number of times. I have many pictures from the various hikes I have been on, and while many of them really are beautiful pictures, none of them quite do justice to the real thing. I believe God has taught me a valuable truth from that first hiking experience that has been confirmed over and over again with each hike I have been on since. Though hiking can be hard and dangerous, there is no substitute for the journey, and the reward that waits at the top can’t be experienced any other way.
This truth applies to just about every aspect of life, spiritually this is true, mentally this is true, and physically this is true. A good marriage doesn’t just happen. It takes hard work and sacrifice to enjoy the mountain top views of a happy home. Children don’t just end up being upstanding citizens, they must be trained. That training can be inconvenient, unpleasant, and challenging, but it is necessary to experience the desired end later. When a person fails to reach their God given potential in any area typically it is because they are not willing to endure the long hard road of whatever process it takes to get there.
This truth is both convicting and encouraging. It is convicting because I can no longer excuse my failures. I can’t blame others for my situation of life. It is encouraging because it means that my situation can change. All of the sudden, when life is looked at in this light there are numerous possibilities. The only limit to what God can accomplish in me and through me is what I am willing to endure by way of the journey, the process it takes to accomplish it. The mountaintop views of being in the center of God’s will can be experienced no other way!
I really enjoyed our Thanksgiving Day journey. I was proud of my sister for making it to the top, and though most people she tells will have never heard of the Franklin Mountains she will always be able to say she did it, and that mountaintop experience will always be hers because she was willing to endure the hard journey necessary in making it there. The only down side was the cold Thanksgiving Day dinner we had waiting on us as a result of the journey taking longer than we had anticipated. What memories...
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