The second decade of life: a write up

The second decade of life is rough. You have to deal with the mountain that has been erected in your mind. You see the summit, and you perceive the language of celebration on it, but you are faced with seasons of harsh winds, turbulence, and if you are particularly lucky, and avalanche of sorts. No one is physically there to save you, and you are stuck with the thoughts and memories of betrayal, hardship, and loneliness. So you loathe and decide that you are not made for this mountain. You start to play with the rocks that threw you off course, and you make a beautiful pond of the tears you once cried. You set up a tent right there, and you flirt with the fantasy of giving up. After all, you look at your surroundings and see nothing. You figure that staying there is the new summit to celebrate. 

All of a sudden, a harsh cold wind blows through your camp. It makes you realize that you cannot stay here and you want warmth, and you are willing to do anything for it. So you brainstorm and think how you can summit within the timeframe, in a strategic matter. You accept that you cant do it alone, and you are willing to surrender to the creator who carved each mountain and blessed you with the sky and sun to want the warmth you desire. You make a decision to work with the creator, and He instructs you that you were going in the wrong direction! The summit you were planning for does not have many people on it, and that there will be more than enough room for you to celebrate when you get there.

As you are surprised by this new revelation,  you scratch your plans for the summit you thought you needed to make and receive the new plans for the summit you were made for. As you anticipate that you will summit with ease and speed, you come to the knowledge of understanding that the journey was harder than you one you intended on going on first. The plan for this summit scares you, and you ask yourself if you will meet anyone on the way, or at the top. But you made the decision to summit the mountain made for you, so trust that things will work our the way they need to.

There are days of  successful acclimatization, and it makes you feel good. Then there are days of harsh winds, turbulence, and if you are lucky, and avalanche of sorts. You bruise yourself really bad and figure you need time to rest, recover and heal. As you cry in your camp and pray for a quick recovery, the thoughts of the timeframe closing in on your haunt you. So you try to summit on your wound, and it is too  painful to go on. So you sit back down and take a quick breathe. You sit in silence, waiting for a word of instruction and you hear "Chill a little. Take things easy. This summit was made for you, you have have ample time to heal and recover before your push. Rest." So you rest, as the Voice suggests.

As you rest, you come across useful information through the radio you brought with you on your journey. You discover that there are people who are on the same mountain as you, and you occasionally hear them outside of your tent. As days go by, you muster up the courage to walk on your healing wound and it doesn't hurt as much. You ambulate outside of your tent and  you say hello to a few hikers. You make friends and you start to open up again. You learn a few pointers from the hikers who have acclimated on the unique paths to your shared journey, and you are immensely grateful. As you make plans to pack up to climb, you promise to stay in touch and help out, in the event of avalanche. 

You feel some panic. You feel that time is (still) closing in on you, but you are doing the best you can. You have 412 days before the time window is up and you are expected on the mountain. You look around and you've got the right equipment, weapons to ward off any enemies to your progress, and a great attitude. You take a few deep breaths and verbally say "God, I trust you, and I wont give up", and press on. You know that you will make it, but know that you should pace yourself along the way. 

It is a journey of self-discovery and while you know that summit is imminent and close, you learn to let go of those feelings that held you back and welcome the grace of your advocate, and realize that...

things will be alright.

Thanks for reading.