CLIMBING THE SLOPES
On many a occasion, through the years,
most of us, in January, have made a written
or mental list of resolutions which we try,
usually futilely, to keep for the rest of the
year, and which are quite often broken
by the end of the month.
Often, we are like beginning skiers who,
promise themselves that in just one winter
season, they shall become experts on the
slopes, but instead, they find themselves
nursing a broken leg into the springtime.
So, once again, at the beginning of a new
year, we find the mountains are before us.
Carefully now, we shall not try to leap them
in a single bound, instead, we shall simply
try to climb them one minute at a time.
All of us may increase our private prayer
time for one more minute a day.
While fifteen minutes might be a difficult stretch
for some us, surely all of us may increase our
scripture reading, one more minute a day.
We may increase our praise and adoration
of the Lord for one extra minute a day, even
if we have to break our praising into increments
of few seconds at a time.
And surely, we can find one more sixty seconds in
in which to praise or complement our spouse or
or children in a most positive way, making the
most of a worthwhile minute.
Mountains often may seen difficult or beautiful
depending on how we view them or climb them.
Climbing the slopes may become a most joyous
undertaking if we simply stride upward one
minute at a time.