Progress

There is nothing in this life that will come our way that we can't handle as long as we have faith in a loving Heavenly Father. Last week I spent a few days down in Escalante backpacking with some young men from my church ward. It was an amazing experience and I was able to relate many of the experiences I had there to the trials and hardships of life. I was impressed with the quality of these young men and I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for this trip with them.

As we hiked through the narrow slot canyons, down a river, and up the sides of mountains I thought a lot about our journey through life. Our last hike was probably the most memorable. It was the end of a long day and the last 2.5 miles were up a mountain. It was 98 degrees and we were running low on water. From the bottom of the mountain, the trek back seemed daunting. As we began the hike I even found myself having the thought "I can do hard things, I can do hard things." Sometimes as we are struggling through the uphill battles of life we have to reassure ourselves that we can do hard things. We need to constantly be moving forward with faith, with a determination to make it to our destination. Typically I would say it's never good to look back but when we made it to the top of the mountain it was an amazing feeling to look back at where we started. As I look back at the uphill battle I have faced, I am amazed to see where I started. It is a good feeling to see progress! We need to allow ourselves to see our improvements and where we have grown! But the feeling I remember most as I looked back from the top of the mountain is how much a loving Heavenly Father has helped me along the way. He has given me strength and courage. He has lifted me up. I would be stuck at the bottom somewhere if it wasn't for Him. I love my Heavenly Father.

My particular uphill battle is not finished. I still have other mountains to climb. Life seems to be a continuous uphill battle. But we can progress! We can push forward with faith. We can give ourselves a pat on the back everyone once and a while and then keep moving. Our Heavenly Father knows how difficult life can be. He KNOWS. He also knows how to help us! We are not alone in our struggles. I know without a doubt that God loves us, and he knows we can't be perfect so he wants to see PROGRESS. He wants to see us climbing life's mountains with courage and faith in Him. And he will be there every step of the way. We can all feel the joy of progress in our lives. We also can all feel the gentle guidance from a loving Heavenly Father, especially when our mountains seem overwhelming.

I want anyone who reads this to know that they have a Heavenly Father who lives and loves them. His love is eternal and pure. He knows you and your struggles. He is real and he desires for you to return to Him. He will help you PROGRESS. Do not fear your mountains. Climb them!