A Roller Coaster or a hike in the Mountains?

Did you ever hear anybody describe life as a Roller Coaster? I prefer to liken it to a hike in the Mountains. A Roller Coaster races through the valleys and across the peaks. A hike in the Mountains is a slow and laborious ascent up the Mountain, littered with rocks to stumble over, and thoughts of giving up and turning around. Then if you decide it is worth the effort to climb up, you are on the top, and see it was worth the trouble. But you can't remain there for too long, and you have to embark on your way down. The descent is more rapid. You find yourself having a difficult time to slow down, because of the steep path, and gravity pulling you down. Then you are tired and worn out in the Valley, and have to hike up the next mountain. A lot of times it is really difficult to find the motivation to go on up the next hill side, and we wonder if it is even worth the effort it takes.

So many of my friends are in the process of hiking up the mountain, or even just starting out of the Valley. My prayers are with them, that they will get that "push" to keep on going.

I am on my career Mountain right now. If you know Mountains, then you know how it starts out gentle, and gets steeper as you get closer to peak. I must be close to the peak, because right now it is a battle to climb that rock ledge up there. I need patients, calculate my steps, and keep pressing on. I can see the cross that marks the peak, but it is just out of reach. It is so difficult to have patients, and not try some crazy short cut, and risk getting stuck, and having to back track to get back on the right path.

I am praying that I will have the patients and strength to continue on my mapped out path to the peak. All I have to do it climb over this big ledge. I am not having illusions that it will be easy, but I know I can make it over this huge stumbling block. It is very tempting to explore some of the other paths, but I can still change direction once I am over that hard part.

To make it easier to understand, the ledge is the job I have right now, and I have to hold on for 3 1/2 weeks more until I am eligible to bid into a job in the Hospital system that I trained for. But with all the things going on at work, it is really difficult to have the patients. The other paths are jobs in private practice. On a normal day, I am determined to get a job within the hospital system that I work in currently. But today, a job in private practice looks very tempting too. I hope and pray I can push through, and see what is on the other end, I.E. a job in a doctors office. I am getting very impatient to be able to move on.

I know I am unable to fulfil God's plan for me by myself. So I am on my knees, and ask God to give me the patients and strength that I need to arrive at the point where he wants me at.