Hard steps? Yes Please!

My steps, I often want them to be so valuable, so significant. I want each step to count, as each counts in climbing a mountain. I learned this summer paddling at Beyond, that each stroke will not always take you forward. The wind, the current and the tide most often determine your pace. In the mountains, the elements can slow you down too but your feet are planted on solid ground and if you stop you are not losing ground. On the water, if you stop paddling, you are still moving whether forward or backwards (seemingly most often backwards), which makes for some real awkward and frustrating lunch stops or water breaks.
My dad has always said, "One step at a time!" and I, in turn, always remember that when something is hard. :) And thanks to Becca and Tessa, I am learning to identify whats hard..."This is hard!" :) I have been known, a bit, for enjoying hard things and the reason why I love carrying a 80 lbs pack and still taking more weight or that I love the story where I lead 7 guys to Aslan's Howl in 1 hour & 15minutes on a recon (& I wanted so bad to help carry that girl down the mountain...short kid), is not to prove anything, but as a reminder that hard steps are worth taking!
I took my first real hard steps last night on the campus of Lakeside. I went to a co-ed wrestling match, you know those sports where no one goes to watch but parents, yep this was it. Before I got there, I imagined stands filled with kids cheering and me wondering around with a small bag of popcorn trying to ask kids what the rules where, or how the score was kept. But instead, Sarah (Young Life Leader) and I sat, singled out with the trash can, on the floor, eye level with their shoulder blades. My eyes scanned the bench searching to find a new friend of Kayln's (Young Life Leader) but was surprised to find several girls on the team. Wow, talk about a hard step! I was so impressed to see the guys on the team taking these girls under their wing, teaching them quick stances to help them beat the other team. I was blown away by these tough girls, so much that this hard step of speaking to them afterwards, became so genuinely simple.
"Way to go!" started conversation which lead to an invitation to All City Club on Monday. I invited 6 kids just out of pure enthusiasm for wanting to get to know these kids. I felt like I was on the moon taking a small step for Young Life but a huge step for Lakeside or that I was passing the end of the Shier. My heart was like a crowd of people cheering, my face had to have looked like I had just won a huge victory! And today, I know that this is why I love the hard steps! Jesus by your side, really, truly, you can take on any hard step!
Keep Lakeside in your prayers! Thanks for reading!