I Don't Want to Forget: I Can Do Hard Things

Long before the horizon was painted pink by the rising sun, our flashlight lit what the full moon could not. It was time to begin our final day . .  at 3:30 a.m.

*This is the second of a series of posts about things I never want to forget from my days on the trail, Summer 2015. 

The title may be a little deceiving. Let me expound. I can do hard things. But not without God's help. Even before I went on this trek, I knew that I could do hard things, but I was reminded again just as it says in Matthew 19:26 "...with God all things are possible."

The first two days of our trek had consisted of a couple of 6 mile hikes. We did a lot of stopping and learning and talking along the way and even crossed a little river in the rain, but each day ended somewhat early with games, dancing, and a warm cup of Ramen or hot chocolate. Ramen? Yes. It was Armando's idea and surprisingly, the majority of the kids in our "family" chose that over hot cocoa. And I digressed. Ramen has nothing to do with hard things. In short, our first couple of days were comparatively easy. 

At the end of the second day, we were informed by the trek leaders that we would need to have the youth up and taking down camp by 4:30 a.m. in order to load the buses and be transported to our starting point an hour away. The day that awaited us was going to be a long one and if we didn't start early, we wouldn't make it before sunset. That meant that Armando and I would need to get up by about 3:30 a.m. in order to be ready ourselves to help the youth get moving. 

If any of you know me, you know that getting up before 6 a.m. is not my favorite thing to do. So 3:30 a.m. was really stretching it.We had a little motivational fireside chat with our family (as most sipped their Ramen) and off to bed we went. But not before praying. And we prayed hard. 

When the 3:30 a.m. alarm sounded I was wide awake and had this energy that just surged through my body. It wasn't a physical energy as much as an emotional energy that I was so ready to just conquer this day. I just felt like singing from the rooftops. And I knew that this was a small miracle that God had worked in me for the benefit of His children that He loves. "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." (Ether 12:27)

And it turns out I would need every last drop of that energy for what we would face that day. It all began when our bus driver took a wrong turn and we began our trekking two hours later than planned.