Let’s get one thing straight…I hate being cold! Ok wait, let’s get two things straight…I hate being cold and I am not an athlete. I am a right-brained creative all the way. I have two left feet (or is it two right feet since I’m right-brained?). Either way, I am a creative person who loves being warm.
So, what’s a creative to do when she marries someone who not only loves sports but especially loves cold-weather sports?? Like skiing? Well, I guess she tries to unlock the left side of her brain and push herself to embrace it.
When my love and I got engaged we agreed that I would plan the wedding and he would plan the honeymoon. I planned a very small, intimate wedding on a golf course (his other love). He planned a very romantic getaway to…um, Canada. Not just anywhere in Canada…a ski resort at the top of the Canadian Rockies, where the Olympics were held.
I won’t lie. It was spectacular. We got married the week of Thanksgiving so the whole village was lit up for Christmas. It was exactly like a Hallmark movie. Lightly falling snow. Soft, sparkling lights. Crackling fires. Breathtaking views. But it was cold. Even the locals complained of it being colder than usual. I think it was -19 degrees. It wasn’t your typical honeymoon lying on a white sandy beach, drinking tall fruity beverages. Nope. But it was memorable.
Especially the day I made my first attempt at skiing. Just my luck, the bunny slopes weren’t open so we ended up on a non-beginner run. My hubby thought it would be romantic to teach me how to ski himself. Let’s just say…it didn’t go well. I fell aaallllllllll the way down that mountain. Or rather I should say, I cried aaallllllll the way down that mountain. And I jacked my knee up. It hurt for months (honestly it still hurts every once in awhile). It ranks up there as one of the worst days of my life. I was so scared. And we didn’t ski the rest of the week.
But believe it or not I was anxious to try it again. I wanted to learn for the sake of my husband. Heck, I wanted to learn for myself. To prove that I could do something so far outside my comfort zone. So, my husband took me to a local ski facility. I live in the Midwest so that’s not saying much. It’s really a hill with fake snow but an opportunity to learn nonetheless. I took a couple short lessons there but can’t really say I gained much confidence. In fact, I stood paralyzed at the top of a hill, the equivalent of my driveway, and cried. Fear is a beast.
So then, my husband planned a family vacation to Colorado. I suppose it’s his mission in life to kill me. That’s ok. I was scared, but this was personal so I was game. This time he scheduled a semi-private ski lesson. Just my luck, I got sick the day before the lesson with bronchitis. So now I was scared AND sick. He was willing to let me forego the lesson but I was bound and determined I was going to ski or die trying (I meant that literally and figuratively).
I drugged myself up, strapped on my ski boots and off I went. I informed my ski instructor that I was paralyzed with fear. His antidote? To throw me on the ski lift before I even had a chance to argue and take me to the top of the mountain. He didn’t bat an eye. He didn’t spend hours or even minutes holding my hand and telling me it will be ok. He gave me a few simple instructions and said “follow me”. He was my only hope at getting down that mountain so I really didn’t have a choice but to move forward.
He would ski a little ways down the mountain and stop, wait for me to catch up, then ski a little further, wait for me to catch up and so forth. After a little while he said “look back and see how far you’ve come”. I couldn’t believe it! Before I knew it, I had skied down that mountain all by myself. Four hours later and a dozen more times down that mountain…I was skiing!
The next day I was on my own…and even sicker. There were times I got lost and found myself on a steeper hill than I had planned. There were times I panicked. There were times my throat hurt so bad I didn’t want to keep going. But I had no choice but to keep trudging forward. And I learned some things along the way. I learned that if I looked all the way down the hill, the more scared I became. If I looked down at my skis, I fell. If I looked back, I fell. But if I stayed focused on the few feet in front of me…the steadier and calmer I became. The biggest thing I learned?? Skiing is more about your state of mind, than athletic ability. It’s about overcoming fear. It’s about getting back up when you fall. It’s about conquering mountains!
Whether you’re a warm-blooded person or not…you cannot deny that life is more like a mountain, than a beach. Life is HARD and challenging. It’s not a fruity drink everyday (although I wish it was!) Every. single. one. of. us has a mountain to conquer. We all have obstacles to overcome. We get sick. We lose our jobs. Relationship issues. The list goes on and on. It’s tempting to be paralyzed with fear and anxiety. But fear steals our joy. Fear tells lies. The Bible says that fear does not come from God. It comes from the one who wants to keep us from conquering those mountains. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) God says: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
God is like my ski instructor who says “follow me”. He doesn’t take away the mountain…that would cheat us out of some incredible views. But rather He teaches us how to move through the mountains. He doesn’t need us to see the whole mountain but only the few steps ahead of us. He doesn’t want us to look down and fall. He doesn’t want us to look back unless it’s only for the purpose of seeing how far He’s brought us. I love the beach, but I’m most thankful for the mountains. The mountains have made me a stronger person.
Coincidentally, on the plane ride home I watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. I hung on every word as the athletes shared their stories of what they overcame to get there. They overcame health problems, financial problems, surgeries, losses. Whatever it was, they overcame and kept going. Those athletes are truly inspiring!
“The harder we fall, the stronger we rise.” author unknown
(oh, and on a side note…it’s really not that cold at the top of a mountain when your husband teaches you how to layer properly!)
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