Recently, I was enlightened.  

I’ve realized that my life has been a series of mountains, one goal, one climb after another after another:  Give the graduation speech for your high school.  Check.  Dual majors in college.  Check.  Law school.  For some God-forsaken reason, check.  Partner in a prestigious law firm.  Check.  Pursue, date, and somehow marry the way-too-hot-for-you girl of your dreams.  Check and double check.

And usually, I climb the mountain.  Usually, I succeed.  I pray about it; hear from God about it; and work my butt off to get it.  But usually, the mountains suck.  I love the accomplishment, but I hate the trip.  I hated waiting on Kelley to come to her senses and finally give me a first date.  I hated studying for law school exams.  I hate the trip so much that sometimes I’ve quit.  I quit basketball in high school.  I’ve quit on several girls that I dated.  I’ve quit on friends.  All because of the climb.  All because I hate the climb.

Cue my enlightenment.  Pastor Nick (R2’s student pastor) calls this next part the “thrill of the hill” because the climb is what makes the mountain a mountain.  The climb is what makes the summit so sweet.  We spend so much time thinking about the summit that we don’t enjoy the climb.  We hate the climb but don’t realize that the climb is making us.  The climb is defining us.  The climb is revolutionizing our view of the very mountain we’re ascending.  The climb is helping us to appreciate the mountain in a way that some lightening-fast cosmic elevator to the top never would have.

So here’s where I’m at:  in the middle of an impossible climb - starting a church.  And yes, there have been times (a lot of times) where I desperately want that cosmic elevator to the top, but I’ve started enjoying the climb more these days.  People leaving the church (and I love them all), tight budgets, constant visioneering, sporadic attendance … they’re the things that will make the summit that much sweeter.

Someday, I’m gonna stand on the mountain top, the wind with me for a change, and I’m gonna have a group of people around me that helped to start a little church out of nothing, and we’re all going to be simultaneously laughing and crying because of this climb with our God that we’ve just been on.

 … To keep me from getting to you, babe.