Mountains out of Molehills

There's a long hill next to my house.  It's a hill I've been familiar with for years, and now I live at the crest of it.  I have a history with this hill.  For years I've driven past it, driven up and down it, and all the while it's taunted me.  Seriously.  It has looked me boldly in the eye, causing me to look away.  See, I had this thought that the hill was too long to walk.  When you get around one corner, there's another.  It would be hard, I wouldn't make it.  I'd probably have to stop part of the way up.  So I never tried.

I moved to my home at the end of February, perched at the top of my nemesis, and felt challenged in my heart to walk that hill.  To conquer it.  Nearly 6 months later I hadn't tried.  Until today.

Can I just say, No.big.deal.  I mean, I had really worked myself up to believe how it would be.  And it wasn't.  It took maybe 15 minutes.  Down.Up.Done.  This is important to me because my bigger goal is a 3 mile loop which includes this hill, and I had to get past the hill to begin walking the loop.  This is what I learned:

Never listen to the voice that says "you can't".  It's always lying.  No matter what our hill is, we can't allow intimidation to stop us from trying the things that are in our hearts to do (obviously within God's grace).

When you launch out, don't think about the hill.  Focus elsewhere. A note here:  focusing on the finish line doesn't work for me.  I'm the type who see's the whole course when I focus on the finish line - I can't separate the two.  So, I focus elsewehre.  I put a fantastic message on my ipod and listened as I walked.  I was encouraged in my spirit, thinking on the good things being said, and paid no attention to the hill I was walking.  "Think on good things" can help propel you past your obstacles! (music doesn't work for me either, but it might for you.  I'm a thinker, and thinking upward is a positive and encouraging way to move forward for me).

The battle to guard our thinking is constant.  Today, maybe you can take a look at that area you've been avoiding because it seems too difficult.  And just possibly you'll lace up your tennis shoes and go for a walk.  It will be just the beginning!