lessons from Rocky Ridge (part III)

Our trek culminated with the climb up Rocky Ridge. It was about a hundred degrees or so hotter than when the Willie & Martin companies came through. That made it easier, I suppose. Not that it was easy. It was rocky, mountainous, and the heat bore down heavy upon us. It was getting close to the time for total despair. Naturally I was the last one to make it to the top. After our little fireside, we were invited to go off by ourselves for some time of reflection. I figured the wise thing for me to do, would be to go ahead and start back down; being so slow, I needed a good head start. That half hour that I spent alone became the highlight of the trek for me. I walked at my own pace and it was very pleasant. The sky was beautifully clear, the desert still and peaceful. I had an epiphany. I thought about my failure as a pioneer. And I cried a lot. I was such a wimp. I didn’t want to be a wimp, I didn’t mean to be a wimp, but that’s what I was. I asked my Father in heaven to forgive me for being a wimp and I thanked Him for, in His infinite wisdom, denying my pleas way back in those heavenly counsels for Him to let me come to earth as a pioneer. Wimps don’t make good pioneers. Then began an interesting conversation with Him about the real reality of it all. The Spirit told me that He didn’t want me to be a pioneer. Had He wanted me to be a pioneer, He would have made me one, whether or not He had enough already. He didn’t want me to be a pioneer, not because I am a wimp, but rather because the gifts He had given me were not suited to that time and place. I was not equipped for those experiences and He would not have let me have to go through them. And it was OK. He told me that He is very pleased that I love the pioneers, for He loves them, too. However, it is not enough for me to just love the pioneers. With the gifts I have been given, suited to building up the kingdom of God here and now, He expects me to be like the pioneers; to translate all I love about them into my circumstances.

Before too long, the others caught up with me, and as usual, left me in the dust. But I didn’t feel so bad anymore. I had a new understanding, a new perspective.

I truly love the pioneers; ordinary people who became extraordinary by letting the Lord mold them into what He needed them to be. We often speak of them as having paid a tremendous price. Indeed they did, but it was a price that had to be paid. I’ve come to realize that the debt was never completely paid off. It is a debt that is never paid off; for each succeeding generation must make their own installment on the debt. The currency changes, but the price remains the same: partaking of God’s goodness, sacrifice, steadfastness, faith, obedience, and gratitude. It is a high price to pay, but it is not too high. Perhaps as we remember and honor our pioneers, we should ask ourselves: Are we falling behind in our payments? Are we risking foreclosure? If we fail to pay our share of the debt, will the investment made by those faithful generations of the past be lost for the generations of the future?

We too, are ordinary people, but as we rely on the Lord, He can make us modern pioneers, noble and great ones; He can make us extraordinary.

(for a hard copy of the complete talk, email requests to loveylou627@gmail.com)