After a close friend and I had a meaningful conversation about feeling like being on an exercise treadmill in her own spiritual life, I began to think about this concept further. This also caused me to deeply consider my own concerning feelings of being on a circus carousel/merry-go-round in some areas of my own life. I began to contemplate how one’s life could feel as though they are on a treadmill. Being on an exercise treadmill involves purposeful movement in the form of walking, jogging, or running. Energy is exerted through this exercise and doing so takes an intentional effort to step on the treadmill, turn it on, and then begin to move one’s body or face falling down on the sandpaper-like moving belt of the machine. More energy is needed for steeper inclines and/or a faster pace. Through consistent movement on a treadmill, one can grow in physical and mental strength and stamina; however, it can feel defeating when one is going nowhere because the equipment one is on is stationary and the progress seems to be hard to measure visually. In life, one can feel that they are on an exhausting treadmill of sorts. They can be intentionally choosing things in their life that get them moving spiritually, mentally/emotionally, and/or physically; and yet, feel that they aren’t really going anywhere in those areas of their life. Visually, it may seem that they are still in the exact same place or condition that they were in before; but, if the truth be told, they have actually gained in their strength or knowledge or endurance, or all of thee above. The real question is what is one to do if they are putting in the effort to grow but feeling like they are just going nowhere? And the next plausible question is, what is one to do if they find themselves in this challenging spot?

As mentioned previously, I have found myself feeling like I am on a circus carousel in some areas of my life. It seems that I keep circling around to some of the same issues that I have been struggling with my whole life, or at least my adulthood. A real life tender example of one of these areas that I find myself disappointingly circling around to again and again is a childhood memory that seems to keep resurfacing even though I have intentionally chosen to give forgiveness to the person that inflicted the life-changing wound, I have repeatedly talked with Jesus about this troublesome memory, and have even attempted multiple times to hand it over to Jesus. I experience some ups and some downs as if I were on one of those colorfully painted carousel horse. Things keep moving forward; so it seems, but then I find myself right back in that same wounded spot wondering why in the world I am ‘here’ again because I was so sure that I had already ‘been there and done that’ and worked through ‘it’ before. Each ride or trip around looks a little different with different co-riders on the merry-go-round but it is basically the same disappointing scenario every time. When I think about this, it reminds me of a carousel with its brightly colored horses and some bench seats for two. I think that these vibrantly colored bench seats are for those that would prefer to sit effortlessly for the spin around the circle. The basically stationary horses go up and down, up and down as the predictable ride continues to move seemingly forward; that is until the riders circle around to the same spot they were just moments before. The movement of the horse rider could appear to be of their own accord; however, the movement of the horses are purely mechanical and at the trained hands of someone else. In life, it may seem like we have all control or no control. The truth is that we have control of our choice whether or not to stay on the merry-go-round as it continues in it’s never-ending circular pattern.

In my deep contemplation of being on an exercise treadmill and/or a circus carousel, it occurred to me that there’s something more to consider in this arena. Mountains. Hiking up a mountain. Now I’m not a seasoned hiker and I have never hiked up a mountain; however, even with what little I know about mountain hiking, I can see some similarities between hiking up a grand mountain like Mount Everest and living ordinary life. In hiking up a mountain, the end goal is to successfully make it to the mountain’s peak alive and without physical injury. With the majestic beauty of mountains and all that is thriving along the way to the peak, I have to believe that part of hiking up a mountain is to enjoy the fabulous views along the way and from the very top of the mountain. Of course, the incredible sense of accomplishment could be a motivating driving force in reaching the destination. Hiking; or climbing, a mountain takes strength, endurance, determination, intentionality, and planning; not to mention the initial decision to do so. One doesn’t randomly wake up one morning and say, “I think I will go climb Mount Everest today.” It takes different types of training and conditioning to be able to spiritually, physically, and mentally/emotionally be capable to succeed in reaching the top of the mountain. There’s also a need for certain types of hiking and survival equipment and/or gear required to navigate the rough terrain of rocks, slopes, and uneven ground that one may find on their challenging journey upward. Because of the rough and unpredictable terrain of a mountain, it’s wise to hike with other experienced hikers; there truly is ‘safety in numbers.’

Ecclesiastes 4:9-11New International Version

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?

I envision life as a climb up a grand majestic mountain with the ultimate mountain peak (destination) being Heaven; my eternal home. It takes all of one’s life to reach that heavenly destination; if they have accepted a relationship with Jesus Christ. Some lives are much shorter than others but the point remains that the mountain top of this life is obtained when one reaches their eternal destination.

The goal in hiking up a grand majestic mountain is to reach the peak; the pinnacle of the mountain. For those that have accepted Christ, the pinnacle is to enter Heaven as our eternal destination, and take as many souls with us as possible. In my consideration of feeling like one is on a life ‘treadmill’ or a life ‘carousel,’ it quickly occurred to me that even though being on one of these machines seems like one is moving in some way but also feeling like they are going nowhere; these times of stationary movement may actually be divinely appointed purposeful training and/or conditioning for the most arduous climb up the most extreme mountain with all those that one can take with them. The treadmill; albeit stationary, helps one to grow in strength, endurance, and patience in those trying seasons of feeling like one is going absolutely nowhere. The carousel; while moving forward and at the same time spinning in circles, allows one to peel back each layer of life experiences for healing and learning and growing from that life-altering ‘thing’ that seems to keep being resurfaced even in those times when it is thought that that old thing has been dealt with. I believe that the magnitude of the climb up the mountain of life gives one valleys to rest in, treadmills to train and become conditioned on, and carousels to ride for times of healing and strengthening. All of these seemingly ‘going nowhere’ times are actually the training and conditioning and growing ground needed to hike up the mountain, reach the destination, and take as many souls with us as possible.

#treadmill #carousel #mountainhiking #vision