Yesterday I went for a hike to Maxwell Falls, just outside of Evergreen, CO with my friends Anne Marie and Nanci. As we pulled into the parking lot, it looked quite familiar and I was almost positive I had been at this trailhead before. As we kept walking, it dawned on me that this trail was the very first that I hiked after I moved to Denver, a little over three years ago!
It was such a neat feeling thinking back to where I was when I went on that hike three years ago, and where I am now. It's so interesting how one can grow and change, and yet, on the same token, stay the same in a lot of ways.
While hiking, Nanci asked me where I saw myself in five years. It was the second time in a few days that I had been asked that question, and I felt the same both times...I hate that question. I think I dislike it so much because the future is so uncertain. I can make my plans and goals, but most likely, the next five years will look nothing like how I planned. The thought of being disappointed or even failing is not something I want to voluntarily inject into my life. So I usually don't think about what I will be doing in five years, because who really knows except for the One who knows everything.
Today, in church, I was challenged to be someone who is willing to give everything of myself to God. That includes giving up everything that I own or thought was mine. A woman who put two coins into an offering box, equalling a penny, gave more than anyone of the rich aristocracy because she gave all that she had. She gave it all. Am I willing to do the same? Am I willing to give so much monetarily that it hurts; that it makes me question how I'm going to make rent this month?
Getting out into the wilderness, going for a hike to Maxwell Falls, helped me remember that my life is a gift, it's fragile, and it is not my own. I need to remember that I cannot get too attached to the things of this world or this life. They are fleeting, and temporary. Hearing the sermon in church today helped me remember that I need to be open to letting go of all I hold dear on this earth so that I may reap a greater reward.
Now, I ask you, are you willing to give EVERYTHING? Are you willing to give up everything?
