Ascent

There is an abandoned bridge near my home that is known to attract many people to its daring challenge - to jump off into the river below. It's about a forty foot drop into the river, but in order to ascend to the top of the bridge, you must climb up a bar that may not ever be a foot wide. It is said that once you get to the top, it is safer to just jump down than to descend the way you came back up. 

A term that is used a lot when describing our short term and long term trials is "Climbing Mountains". During a hike up, it may seem as though we are on the verge of failure and giving up, but once we get to the top, we feel accomplished. We feel refreshed, and all of a sudden, we get this rush of energy - A gladness and sense of accomplishment for a successful ascent to the peak, essentially our goal and purpose of the hike in the first place. 

To be frank, the first time I went up that truss to get to the top, I was freaked out. I really felt like I wanted to go back down. It took some amount of motivation to keep going forward. Had I had not gone all the way up and tried to work my way down, it would have been more difficult and dangerous. Even though I may have gotten to the bottom safely, I would experience feelings such as of discouragement and regret. 

It seems pretty common now a days for people to just "give up". Where is the accomplishment in that? Where is it that we learn? If we only kept our feet in the water, we merely "skim the surface" and we cannot experience the full joy that comes from accomplishment.

It is on the last hill, the last mile, the last of anything where we sometimes feel as thought we have to give up. I do not think we are completely aware of what we are capable of. We can do amazing things, and these capabilities do not "rise to the surface" until we are tested. 

Our ascent can be stressful and tiring, and it can be completely arduous and long, but we must remember. We are almost there. 

I want to re-post the quotation by Elder Jeffery R. Holland just because it truly helps us have faith. Let us press forward until the end and until we reach our main goal. Let us have faith to persevere through our trials, for Jesus Christ will give us strength.
  

“Don't you quit. You keep walking, you keep trying, there is help and happiness ahead. Some blessings come soon. Some come late. Some don't come until heaven. But for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in Good Things to Come.”