Day 7 in England: Climbing the Spiritual Mountain

(The turn out for our last youth outreach) 

Today we had another youth outreach at Hope Church, where my husband talked about scars. Members of our team and of the church's team shared their testimonies and talked about how Jesus saved us. At the end, we had the students write things from their past that they needed to move on from and held a bon fire where they burned them. Then we ended by having s'mores together and hanging out.

      I had conversations with many ladies today. It's humbling to have people open up about what they're going through. I know how difficult and scary it is for them to be vulnerable and so it is an honor when they do. A lot of times students (and adults) just need a listening ear. 

      I loved watching the leaders at Hope Church connect with the youth and adults. They are truly dedicated to building others up. They support those who are having a hard time, stand alongside those who are hurting, and encourage those coming in for the first time. Their lives reflect their love and devotion to God.

(The view from the mountain we climbed in the Lake District)

      In the morning, before our outreach event, one of the leaders named John took us to the Lake District for some sight seeing. There, my friends and I climbed up part of a mountain. Later, God showed me why it is important to live in community with other Christians and how the physical act of climbing a mountain is like moving forward in our spiritual lives. 

      Each of us had different speeds and stamina while climbing the mountain. At one point, I grew tired and was ready to stop. As I watched two of the others going higher it ignited my determination to keep going. The beautiful and necessary thing about being part of a healthy church is that when you are tired and ready to give in, others are there to spur you on. There are times when you see others moving closer to God and it makes you want to get where they are and not give up. 

      Too many people take lightly the fact that God calls us to live out our faith communally. We are meant to live in community with other believers. Ecclesiastes 4:9a and 10 (NIV) say, "Two are better than one,...If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!" Hebrews 10:25 says, "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

      We all fall constantly in our walk. We go through hard times and begin losing sight of what we are after. When we do, others who are higher on the mountain than us have the ability to let us know what they see in order to spur us on. Climbing our spiritual mountain provides us with the same experience as climbing a physical one. We can see how nice the view is from the bottom and grow content with that because we see how much more work it will be to climb the mountain and work out our faith. But, when you make the climb, you see more than you could at the bottom. You see further. 

      We need to spur each other on and get around those who have a closer relationship with God than we do so that we can have a greater view of eternity and a better understanding of who our Lord is. It's easy to settle for the base view but God is always willing to take us further. There is so much more to learn about God's heart and being Kingdom minded. That excites me. Our faith and relationship with God isn't boring. There is always a new level we can get to. I want to get there and see what I've been missing from where I am now.

Pray that God will show you the people in your life who can spur you on in your spiritual climb and that the people at Hope Church will continue to be that for each other.