Courage . . . and on, on to the Victory!

Early Saturday morning, I had an experience while running which I decided is a great analogy for life. Running is so applicable to everyday life! It's wonderful!

I am currently training for a marathon, so Saturday mornings I do my long runs with a friend. This particular Saturday we had to do a 14 mile hill run—which consisted of 7 miles of uphill, then we could turn around and go 7 miles downhill. My friend April and I met at 6:00 in the morning. It was bitter cold (27° F), extremely windy, and very dark. Neither of us thought running sounded like much fun and we discussed how nice it would be to go back home and crawl into our warm beds. But, "hard training = easy mission," so we forced ourselves to run.

At the beginning we were running in flat, open terrain with a few small hills. Gradually, the hills became more frequent and steeper. By mile 5, we were running in a steep ravine, with dirt and rock walls on either side of us. We could only see the path ahead, which was a very steep 10% uphill grade.

The upward climb was difficult and slow going. The muscles in my legs were screaming at me to stop. Doubts of my fitness level, questions of my sanity, and thoughts of quitting kept running through my mind trying to convince me that it would be okay if I didn’t make it to the top—that I’d given my best shot and I should just turn around now and start back to the car. But, April and I trudged along together—encouraging each other to “just make it to the next fence post, then the clump of weeds, then the next bend,” and so on. At times the path was so steep that I hardly felt I was moving forward at all.

The ascent was agonizing, but after what seemed like ages, there we were—we had reached the summit! It was a glorious feeling! As I turned back to look at the path I had just climbed, Heavenly Father blessed me with a tender mercy. In that instant, the sun peeked its head over the top of Mount Timpanogos and the entire Utah Valley was aflame with golden sunshine! It was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever witnessed in my life! I had no idea anything could be so beautiful! Had I stopped, given up, or turned around prematurely I never would have witnessed the beauty that the perspective of being on the summit gave. In that moment, I was so happy that I had persevered through the cold, the wind, and the steep path because it was WORTH IT!

I believe this experience relates to life in the following ways: Often our lives start out easy, with not too many challenges and uphill battles to overcome. Here we are just getting warmed up for what is ahead. Gradually, things become more difficult, until eventually it seems as though we are completely engulfed in the trials and difficulties of our life. Doubts about our spiritual fitness level and feelings of failure creep into our minds, threatening to overpower us and convince us it's not worth it—to just give up. Yet, even in the most challenging and painful life experiences, there are people around us who love us. They urge us to keep moving forward, to hold on a little longer.

And through it all, there is One who is running alongside us all the way, even carrying us when our path is the steepest and most thorny—that person is our Savior, Jesus Christ. He has walked the path before and knows how to succor us in all our needs, trials, weaknesses, and heartaches. For, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . . he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities . . . and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:3-5).

Eventually, if we hold out faithful through all the difficulties of life, we will reach the summit of eternal life. And oh, how glorious and beautiful it will be—more spectacular and worthwhile than we ever could have imagined! The golden sunrise of eternal perspective and understanding will burst upon us, we will have comfort, and will find the eternal rewards promised to all God’s beloved and faithful children! As Joseph Smith declared, “shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad.” (D&C 128: 22).

Life is wonderful, beautiful, and full of all the things we need (good and bad, easy and hard) to refine us, help us grow, and cause us to become all we were sent to earth to become! We are SO BLESSED! I'm grateful for the figurative steep hills in my life that strengthen me and help me see and appreciate the beauty and goodness all around me . . . and even within myself.