She just kept walking. One tiny foot methodically in front of the other. So did her brothers, all three of them her senior. My eldest son, not one to be held back, took off like a mountain goat skipping over rocks and the streams that trickled down the steep mountain slopes, propelled by gravity, on their own journey to the valley floor, along to the loch and out to sea.
Mountains have always captured the human imagination, they speak to a deep, often neglected place in the wild heart of God’s beloved. For some, contentment is found in simply gazing upon their magnificent beauty, avoiding the foreboding unpredictability of the landscape and allowing the uncertainty of one’s own capability to limit the desire of discovery. For others the invitation to adventure is too great, only full immersion in the landscape will satisfy the desires that stir within.
My wife, kids and I all fall into the second category. The apple it seems, truly doesn’t fall far from the tree. And this day some years ago, was a clear indication we were raising a determined young adventurer. Ben Lomond stood in glorious splendour on the shores of Loch Lomond in the summer sunshine. When one seeks to ‘tackle’ a mountain or wave in the ocean, it’s important not to consider it your nemesis or something to be conquered. Nature should not be conquered. If you approach it with such a desire, you’ll be handed your sweet behind on a plate. There’s respect due and a posture of humility to be taken. There are preparations that need to be meticulously thought out. On this day however, we were ill-prepared. Not for a minute did we think our 5-year-old daughter would make it all the way up the path to the summit. She was wearing a T-shirt and her shiny school shoes. Not the best mountain gear.
We were a split pack. I went ahead with my eldest (the mountain goat) and our faithful wee dog Barney. My wife stayed at the slower pace with the younger three, expecting to turn back at any moment. The three of us summited, took a selfie at the top and began the descent back to meet the others. It wasn’t too long before we saw them…..they were unexpectedly still walking in our direction, still aiming for the top of the mountain. They couldn’t quite believe it themselves. When they felt tired and like they wanted to give up, my wife Emma simply kept saying to them, “Why don’t we just keep going a little bit, see how far we get?” And with that gentle encouragement, along with the other little invitation to consider the feelings of victory (“Imagine what it would be like to stand at the top”), these resilient wee kids just kept going, armed with a little determination and some coaching. My eldest son and I (and the dog of course) turned around and began walking back to the top with them. There was no way we were going to miss out on this epic adventure and the celebration that was coming!!
We did eventually all summit the Munro, with much shouting and jubilation and high-fives…….and to the shock of fellow hill walkers out that day who thought it incredible she was up there………in her (not so shiny) school shoes.
This story surfaced in my memory banks after the monthly Rural Ministries prayer meet up on Zoom last week. We reflected on resilience, perseverance and Paul’s encouragement to the Romans to persevere through sufferings and trials, because that leads to character, which in turn leads to hope (Romans 5:3-5).
Oh, my how this is needed in the church right now. Have we lost that part of our character that enables us to go the distance, to keep going through hard times and trial? There are stories all around us of people giving up; individuals leaving their faith behind, churches closing their doors for good, missions compromising their vision, people seeking the safety of comfort. But more than that, we’re all too often seeing a loss of heart that seems to be plaguing the friends of God.
It's easy to lose heart. ‘Stand firm’, ‘Take courage’, these are encouragements given numerous times to the people of God. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
This is call to those who can rouse the hearts of the despondent among us. Now is not the time to lose heart. This is a call to come alongside those folks and reignite the Kingdom imagination within them; to speak words of life and encouragement to them when they don’t believe in themselves; to simply suggest “Let’s just keep going a little bit, together we can see how far we get!”; or “Imagine what it would be like to stand at the top”. This is a call to the poets, the prophets and dreamers…do not be silent. You are called to bring the body into the way of beauty, to restore joy and ignite the imagination in hopeful expectation.
I wonder how far we could get? Well, Jesus was certainly someone who ignited the imagination, inviting us to consider and dream of the possibilities. He believed that those who would believe in him in the ages to come would continue to do the works that he did, but also go further, do greater things (John 14:12).
Let us take heart and keep going with the next small resilience step towards the summit.
Jon Timms
Director, Scotland and Northern England
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