1,000 words

They say that a picture can tell a thousand words, and although I think the pictures from our trip up the mountain are great, there is still so much that I want to say about it (I know it is hard to imagine that I have anything to say but...)

We truly had the most wonderful weekend together. Not only was the mountain climb great but our time spent the other days we were away, were amazing as well.
Just so relaxing and no agenda. I think we actually had thoughts and were able to say them completely without one interuption! It was nice.

So the day we arrived in Leadville it was very dreary and rainy. The forecast did not look good either so I kept praying and had asked some friends to pray too that the weather would not prohibit us from our sdventure.
On Sunday morning we woke up to a new cover of snow on the mountain and although it made for a beautiful scene it was a bit discouraging. We were going to head out anyway and see what the day held as far as weather.
The first bit of the trail was very dreary and rainy, just a drizzle that felt a bit miserable but thankfully not freezing. My sweet husband bought me a new jacket that worked wonderfully for this type of weather.
My mood seemed to match this weather a bit, I tried so hard to just enjoy the hike but it was a bit of a downer.
Soon however the sun came out and things seemed to look up. However, just as we reached tree line a huge wind came up and before long we were hiking in sleet that hurt our face when it hit us. I was again feeling discouraged and right about that time Nate told me to look to my right. There, as close as any I have seen, was a full rainbow. It was amazing! And to top it off, one end landed right in an aspen grove that was bright yellow...the pot of gold! It was kind of like a little gift from the Lord promising to help me through the day.
Not long after the sun came out, and besides wind, that was the worst of the weather we faced. In the end it was a beautiful Colorado fall day!! Thank you Jesus!

The rest of the day was challenging physically but also really emotionally challenging. When people would pass us either on their way up or down, I would feel myself get down and wonder if I would really be able to do it. The other hard part was that we weren't able to see the summit most of the hike. So it was like we were just moving towards the top of the mountain but it never came. That was really a lot harder than I thought. Finally when we did see the summit, I just broke out into a run. I was SO excited to see it!! I didn't even feel that tired at that point, just so thrilled that I was going to make it. And, when we did actually summit, I can hardly describe how elated I was! It was just awesome.
We were the last people to summit but as we started back down we both thought, "this is awesome, we have the entire mountain to ourselves!" It was really neat.

This has been a journey for me, more than I realized. It became a journey of believing in who God has made me to be and enjoying that person, not the ideal person I want to be. There is no way I will ever run up a mountain and be the first one to the top. But with LOTS of love and encouragement from Jesus, Nate, and all the other wonderful people I have in my life, I am pretty sure I can do anything that I set my mind to.
"So," Nate asks as we are heading down the mountain, "Think we will do another one?"
Hmm, once my feet stop hurting and my calves stop aching every time I walk up the stairs, perhaps I will think about it!

(Don't miss the slide show of pictures in the post below!) (Wendy, I picked this music with you in mind!!)