𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐭. 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡

𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐭. 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧: 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐱𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐡

“𝑫𝒐 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒙𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌𝒔𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑮𝒐𝒅.” (𝑷𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝟒:𝟔–𝟕)

Last week I had the great experience of climbing Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It’s been on my bucket list and something I had tried to do in August 2023, but poor weather forced me to turn around when I was halfway up the mountain.

I trained hard these past 5 months with an exercise regimen that included a combination of long walks, cycling, and swimming laps at my local health club.

But this experience proved much more challenging than an earlier climb I had done in 2012, especially the steep elevation changes that affected my breathing due to heart stent surgery in 2017 that can also heighten feelings of anxiety.

As I struggled over the last 1,200 feet of the climb, I used some timely “baby steps”, focusing all my attention on just making it to the next cairn, those human-made stacks or piles of rocks used as a trail marker throughout the climb.

As I pressed forward to the summit, I would take a moment at each cairn to simply breathe and ask the Lord for the strength to make it to the next cairn.

I lost count as to how many cairns lined that last part of the climb and how many times I repeated that simple prayer “Lord, please give me the strength to make it to the next cairn”.

Thankfully, I made it to the summit and soaked in that spectacular view, reflecting on both the physical and spiritual experience of this moment and quickly realized that this climb was so much more about the many mountains each of us face in our daily lives that test our faith – the grief over losing a loved one, a job loss, challenges to our health and independence, and the weight of carrying our broken relationships.

Some mountains are steeper than others while some are hidden from plain sight.

Each mountain may seem impossible to climb, but with preparation, persistence, and faith, the summit may be closer than we think, with each mountain transforming how we see life with a deeper sense of gratitude.

Mt. Washington taught me that my anxiety is real but that it doesn’t have the final word as every anxious moment is an opportunity to lean on my faith, the greatest “baby step” in my arsenal, knowing that God is there to sustain me.

So how about you?

· What mountains are you climbing right now that stir up your feelings of anxiety?

· What “baby steps” do you take in climbing your personal mountains?

· Have you ever faced a mountain in the past that felt impossible to climb at first?

Wishing my clients, fellow coaches, colleagues, and friends the gift of God’s abundant love, Dr. K