2 Life Lessons From a Muddy Hike
Why do we sometimes walk through muddy patches in life? It slows us down and it's no fun. Here are 2 lessons I learned after a muddy hike which apply so well to life.
Episode Discussion Points
The story of hiking the Canyon Overlook trail in Kolob Canyon (part of Zion National Park) with my family 5 years ago.
We happened to do this hike in January and so the trail (which is usually dry, red dirt, was covered in ice and snow and we got really messy and dirty and muddy.
We had our son with low-functioning autism hold onto the back of either my jacket or my husband’s jacket to help him, and we tried to point out the easiest way to go, but he wanted the hike over and just trudged straight through the mud.
Life is often like this, where we feel like we are slogging through the mud, and it isn’t very fun.
We may wonder why in the world God has us here on this path!
I share the story of a broken engagement I had back in my college years and how God even helped good come from that.
Lessons From Hiking in the Mud
Pause, stop looking at your feet, and look up and around you to see the miracles, and trust that God has a grand vista He has in store for you (or something grand He is making you into).
You are not on the path alone. Jesus is there beside you and often prompts you what you can do to get through it more easily, but we always have the choice whether or not we listen to Him. So, don’t be afraid! God can make even mucky, muddy paths turn out for your good (Romans 8: 28).
#tamarakanderson #storiesofhopeinhardtimes #podcast #hope #God #hardtimes #muddypatches #JesusChrist #Godiswithus #Wearenotalone #Godhelpsus #changeperspective #pause#pray #help
Transcription
You can find the transcription of today's episode here:
Tamara Anderson 0:03
Have you ever gone through a rough patch in life where things just aren't as easy as you thought they would be? And you're so stressed out about the steps that you're taking? Every step seems to be like you're walking through mud. I don't know about you, but that seems to make the journey that you thought would be fast and quick, seem to drag on. What do you do then? What lessons can we learn from that? Stay tuned.
Tamara Anderson 0:36
Welcome to Stories of Hope in Hard Times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times, all with God's help. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.
Tamara Anderson 1:02
Hello, and welcome to another episode of Tamara's takeaways on the Stories of Hope in Hard Times podcast. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. Five years ago, we drove to southern Utah and rented a house with a couple of friends for the weekend. And we spent a lot of fun time hiking in southern Utah and just enjoying ourselves. It was it was a lot of fun. And the nice thing is, is because it's January, Southern Utah is a lot warmer than northern Utah at that time of the year. And so it was just nice to be out in the sun and away from the snow. All of that. So, as we were getting ready to drive home, we decided to stop at Kolob Canyon and Kolob Canyon is the northern part of Zion National Park. It is a lot less busy than the southern part. That's where most of the people go to hike through Zion National Park.
Tamara Anderson 2:00
But Kolob Canyon is this little canyon that's right off the I 15 the main highway that goes through Utah and it is gorgeous. You don't even know it's there almost it's kind of just tucked off to the side it has a completely separate entrance. And you get off the i 15. And you just it looks like regular mountains all around you and you check in at the national park entrance there. And you go through this you start driving up this road and all sudden you come around this corner and the regular mountains just instantly change into these gorgeous red rock sandstone mountains that are just so stunning and picture of St. I'm telling you Southern Utah is absolutely gorgeous. If you've never been there before you got to go check it out. It is so beautiful.
Tamara Anderson 2:53
My family and I have done Kolob Canyon several times and we decided that we were just going to do one little hike we still had a three and a half four hour drive that we needed to do to get home and we wanted to get home before dark. And so we we went up the road we went to a hike kind of at the very very end of where you can go in Kolob Canyon, it's called Timber Creek Canyon, overlook trail.
Tamara Anderson 3:24
And what it is, you you drive up this mountain, and on the mountain facing you, there is there are these gorgeous red rock mountains, and they were just frosted in snow. The rest of everything was mostly melted and slushy but since we went up this drive, we were at about 6300 feet in January, and the snow that was on the peaks of the Red Rocks across on the mountain across from us was also on the mountain we were hiking and what was usually a half mile out and a half mile back hike was still that same distance but the trail was muddy and slushy and there was snow on it and there was ice on parts of it. And so what should have been like a quick 30 minute hike turned into this miserable slog through the mud trying to stay on the path but it was covered in snow and slush and muck and us just trying to skip--Okay, here's a rock I can stand on and I'm going to skip and go over here.
Tamara Anderson 4:39
And we had mud on our on our tennis shoes. We had mud on our socks, our feet were wet. Our pants, the bottom of our pants were caked in this red dirt that is so predominant down there in southern Utah and every step you almost had to calculate so that you wouldn't get even more muddy, and even more wet. You really had to be careful where you were stepping. We of course, were hiking with our two sons with us that had autism and, and our daughter. And so the two boys with autism, were on the hike with us. Now Jacob is a fantastic hiker, he can scale anything, do anything, we don't have to worry about him back, he was blazing the trail ahead of us. He usually is. He just took it with strides push forward did his best.
Tamara Anderson 5:33
Nathan on the other hand, with low functioning autism, getting him to hike, especially in a situation that is not his favorite like walking through snow, mud. He wasn't very happy with this. And so we brought his little iPad along. And he was looking at his iPad when he should have been looking at the trail. And so my husband and I always had to be with them and trying to kind of guide him along this trail. Nathan, step here and he wouldn't he would just he would just want the most direct route straight through the snow. straight through the mud. He was the most dirty of all of us by the end of his hike. His poor shoes, were just caked in mud. I remember sitting, banging them after the hike trying to get all this red mud off of them.
Tamara Anderson 6:19
But it he was interesting to hike with. In fact, we had to have Nathan hold on to the back of either my jacket or my husband's jacket so he wouldn't slip. Because he was trying to balance his frustration with this not as fun hike by watching his iPad. He was trying to, we're trying to balance out his level of frustration, so you wouldn't sit and just yell at us. And to be honest, I've done that hike before. And I've done that hike since and it is a fantastic hike. But when you're doing it in the mud and muck, it wasn't as fun of a hike as it had been in the past.
Tamara Anderson 7:02
Now, as we were going along this trail, it was taking longer than expected, we were getting cold, we were getting muddy dirty. Finally, my daughter hit a point, I think we were like seven eighths of the way there. And she just said, That's it. I'm not going any farther, you guys can just go and look at the end of the trail and come back and I'm not taking another step. She was frustrated with the whole situation and nothing we could say or do would convince her otherwise. And we knew we were almost to the end we tried to consider Keep going Keep going. Nope, not gonna happen. And so we were the only ones crazy enough to be on the trail at this point. So we weren't exactly worried about her anything happening to her. And so we finished climbing up this hike and you get to the end of this trail.
Tamara Anderson 7:52
And it's it's an it's called an overlook. And you see these gorgeous red mountains on your left. And then you see Zion National Park in front of you. And then often the distance you see Mount Trumbull, which is the north end of the Grand Canyon, and it was covered in snow poking up. And it was such a difference between the red rocks and these gorgeous peaks in the distance. It was stunning. The Overlook was phenomenal. I mean, it's one of those places, you could just sit up there and breathe the air and just think Ah, I can't believe God made such a beautiful place. And it was worth the muck it was worth the messy yucky, not so fun hike. It was worth the muddy shoes. It was worth the wet socks wet feet cold body. The view was worth it. So yes, we drag our children through the mud sometimes to see gorgeous vistas and stuff like that.
Tamara Anderson 9:00
But it was absolutely amazing. And as I've paused and looked back on this messy, muddy hike, I've been able to think about situations in my life and I'm sure in your life where you feel like you're on the path of life. And what you expected is not what you're walking through right now you're expecting a dry path. Sure a little incline here or there. But you're now knee deep in mud. And you're like what is going on here? God why am I on this path? What What am I supposed to learn? What are you Why are you dragging me through the mud right now? Sometimes when when the muck and middle of a messy such situation where we're having to watch every single step we take and our focus is entirely on our feet and on the muddy trail and we're getting More and more frustrated with life and our situation.
Tamara Anderson 10:05
I think one of the lessons that we need to take from this is to pause to lift our sights from the trail to what's around us. Because along that hike, there were times I would just pause and look up and see that beautiful vista in front of me and think, Okay, I'm not happy with the hike. But when I pause and take my sights off my feet, and look up to where I'm what's around me, I'm amazed. And I can see the miracles of God all around me. So pause, look up. Look for those miracles, the beautiful sights, the fact that you can breathe, and still move and still move forward, even though it's mucky. Take a breath, say a prayer, and then keep going, keep going keep trudging through the muck.
Tamara Anderson 11:09
The other day, I read a short little meme on Facebook, and it reminds me of this situation. And I'd like to share that with you really quick. "One Sunday morning at a small southern Church, the new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said, Lord, I hate buttermilk. The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The Deacon continued, Lord, I hate lard. Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The Deacon continued, Lord, I ain't too crazy about plain flour. But after you mix them all together and bake them in a hot oven, I just love biscuits. Lord, help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don't like, whenever we don't understand what you are doing, that we need to wait and see what you're making. After you get through mixing and baking, it'll probably be something even better than biscuits. Amen."
Tamara Anderson 12:23
And isn't that cute little story so much about life. Sometimes we're walking through the mud, and we're like, this stinks. I hate this. Or if we pause and look at it from a different perspective, from the perspective of God, then we can remember that he is making us better. He's taking these experiences of our life and he's mixing them up and he's making something way better than biscuits. He's giving us something even grander than a panoramic view at the end of a hike. He has something so much better in store for us. We read in the Bible that basically we can't even imagine what God has in store for us. It's so amazing and so grand. So if we have to walk through the mud a little bit in life, just know and trust that what God is making at the end with you. And your situation will make it all worth it. So, pause, look for the miracles change your perspective a little bit and trust in God. That's Lesson number one.
Tamara Anderson 13:40
Lesson number two, is just as my husband and I had to lead Nathan, literally step by step along that messy, muddy trail. Jesus is there on the trail with us. We may feel all alone as we're walking through the mud. But we have to trust that he is there with us saying, If you step here, it's a good place to step and you won't quite get as muddy or as dirty. And like Nathan, we may not listen to him. We may just trudge through head down, you know, I'm just going through this as fast as I can never mind that if I go that way, I'll get less muddy or less dirty. But we have a choice. At that point. We can either listen to God and listen for the little things he impresses us to do.
Tamara Anderson 14:35
Maybe as we're walking through the mud to come over here, step on this rock instead of in that muddy patch right there. And we totally get to choose if we do that, or if we don't do that. It's up to us. And God isn't gonna force us to follow exactly what he's pointing out. The best and easiest way is But he will walk with us through the mud through the hard parts of life. We're never alone, ever.
Tamara Anderson 15:10
This reminds me of an awesome scripture in Deuteronomy, chapter 31. And this is Moses talking to his people before he dies. And he, being such an amazing Prophet and leader, reminds them that as they're getting ready to finally enter this promised land, after walking through the muck, through the for these last 40 years, this is what he said, Be strong, and have a good courage. And then in verse eight, he says, "And the Lord he it is that death go before thee, and He will be with thee. He will not fail the nor forsake the fear not, neither be dismayed." Isn't that a great thing to remember along our journey, that he's with us, we can be strong, we can be courageous, because we know we're not walking alone, we know that we can grab onto the back of his jacket, and He will guide us along that muddy trail member that he's going before you, he's not gonna stop and let you go, no matter what puddle you're in, no matter if you fall on your face. He'll be there to help you get up and help you keep moving forward, he's not going to leave you alone. So don't be afraid.
Tamara Anderson 16:34
Don't be afraid of crazy diagnosis that come into your life. Don't be afraid of death, of sorrow of pain. They're not fun. And we don't like them very much. But he's with us in that mucky part? Mental illnesses tough. We have a lot of struggles with that, and my immediate and extended family. And it is good to know that in those times when we're feeling like we've been dragged through the mud, that he's there with us. He's never going to forsake us or leave us alone. And just like my daughter, he isn't going to force us to go down a path. He's going to let us choose. Whether we move forward with we stay put whether we turn around, it's all up to us. This is ultimately our life. And he will lead us and guide us along. Wherever we are on whatever path we're on, he will help us find the best and easiest way to get through the situation, if we lean on Him and trust in Him.
Tamara Anderson 17:49
When I was in my young college years, I went through a situation where I had a broken engagement. And it was probably one of the hardest things I had been through in my life. Up to that point. I was totally in love, I was so excited to get married. And then he broke it off. And it broke my heart. And I remember feeling like I was walking through mud for quite a while there afterwards. Going through the stages of grief, and just praying every day that the hurt and the ache inside of me would heal. And that I wouldn't wake up feeling the pain that I felt inside every day. Ironically, it was my former fiance who introduced me to this scripture that I'm now going to share with you. It's in Romans 8:28. And it says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them who are called according to His purpose."
Tamara Anderson 18:57
So even that verse reminds me that when we're in the muck, that that too can work for our good. And it did. I learned so much because of that broken engagement. I learned that I really had to lean on God day in and day out for that broken heart to heal. I leaned on him as I kind of went through the motions of life. I went to my classes in the morning. I went to my job in the afternoon, but I really was my heart wasn't invested. I was walking through mud. And it was hard. And I didn't like it. But I know he was there with me. And I knew that this first was true that God can make something good come out of even all that heartbreak.
Tamara Anderson 19:52
And what's interesting is I saw that he did make good come out of it. Not only did he help me and heal my soul. And he took that pain one from me one day. But he blessed me with then a compassion for the brokenhearted, which as I was able to serve a mission among the Hispanic people, that when women were dealing with divorce, or marital problems, I had a different layer of compassion for them because of the situation that I'd been through.
Tamara Anderson 20:32
And I also look back on that time now, and I'm thankful that things turned out the way they did. The Overlook, I have now of life and having married my husband--that was the right view that God was trying to lead me to at the end of that muddy trail. And yeah, I had heartbreak and sorrow and mud that I had to walk through along the path. But God was trying to encourage me along and say, Don't worry, I've got a gorgeous view for you ahead. You just got to hang in there, you got to keep moving forward. So I trust him.
Tamara Anderson 21:14
So just remember that, that with Jesus as your guide, all things, even the messy, mucky, muddy pass that we're on right now will come together for good. And perhaps like me, you can be a blessing to those around you because you have more compassion. Because of a certain situation you've walked through in your life. Maybe you can someday be the answer to somebody else's prayer, because of the muck that you're walking through right now. So keep going. Keep trusting in God, and He will lead you along.
Tamara Anderson 21:54
Well, my friends. I'm excited that I was able to share this story with you today. Remember, if you're in the muck right now to pause, to look up, to see the miracles to gain some perspective. That's Lesson number one. And lesson number two, remember that Jesus is beside you, he will walk with you and He will make all of this turn for your good someday, trust him. Hope on my friends.
Tamara Anderson 22:25
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time, and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website stories of hope podcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know, if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this episode with them. Maybe there was a story shared or quote or a scripture verse that they really really need to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you are struggling with hope to carry on and the strength to keep going when things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all else, remember, God loves you.