One summer some years ago, I went backpacking with a group
of my friends in the Appalachian Mountains in east Tennessee. Now, for those
from the West, these mountains would only appear as rolling hills, but for me
they truly felt like mountains as I was climbing them. As we ascended to the
summit of one of these “glorified hills,” my body felt sore and tired. Every
switchback’s end made me think I had reached my destination, yet sadly I was
disappointed as the trail continued upward. I never thought it would end.
The path we followed leading us to heaven (or so I thought)
took us into the clouds. By this time, the day was coming to a close and we
came to our desired campsite for the evening. We couldn’t see much of the world
around us because of the twilight and cloud cover. And not many of us really
wanted to see anything except the backs of our eyelids because of how exhausted
we were. Needless to say, I slept like a rock.
The next morning we arose to brilliant sunshine coming
through the trees. I felt rejuvenated because of the warmth. We disassembled
our tents and packed our bags, ready to start out again. We hiked through the
trees for less than an hour and finally reached the summit above the clouds. It
was breathtaking getting to see the vast forest beneath us and see the rest
of the mountains rolling northward. It was a moment when I felt connected to
everything around me, and the beauty I saw made the mind-numbing ascent well
worth the effort.
This is how I feel about using
