Greater and Greater Heights

As promised, I have spectacular views to share with you today! Well known in Canada is a challenge called the "Triple Crown Challenge". It consists of three of the most difficult hikes in Waterton Lakes National Park. The most difficult of these hikes, is a 12.4 mile summit hike, on the mountain of Akamina. Difficult due to its steepness, length, and wind on the ridge which is a good quarter of the hike, my traveling companions and I decided to conquer Akamina on one of our free days. The going was slow as our breath was taken away, quite literally and figuratively. As I was hiking through the beautiful provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, our Creator taught me a valued lesson.

What impacted me the most during our hike was the stages of height that we achieved. It wasn't simply a 6 mile hike up, and a 6 mile hike down. We drove deep into the mountains, gaining significant elevation before we had even begun to hike. The views from there alone were enough to drop our jaws. Then we hiked a few miles in, gaining a little height and seeing more and more beautiful scenery.

We then started quite the steep incline reaching the lowest part of the ridge. Already several thousand feet in the air, the views were phenomenal!

The mountains surrounding us were beyond our belief and we didn't think it could get any better than this. The hike consisted of a good 3-4 miles on top of the ridge and as we found out, the ridge continued at an incline. We made it to what we thought was the highest peak of Akamina. Once again, we were stunned at the majesty rolled out before us.

We then proceeded to hike even farther up the ridge, each peak revealing another even higher peak! The hike though beautiful was difficult, and as we walked I found myself wishing that Akamina was not quite so tall. It was in those moments that God taught me a lesson about himself. He wants to take us to greater and greater heights. He wants to reveal His majesty more and more. We walk along the path with Him and reach what we think is the utmost height. We are amazed at His majesty and satisfied for far longer than we should be, with only a small revelation of His glory. Yet, he wants to take us to a greater height. Then we follow Him higher and think, "Oh this must be the peak of His majesty!" Yet, He can take us even higher! Eventually, through much hard work, we reached the highest peak of Akamina, and the view was priceless!

But see, our God created Akamina. He created all the surrounding mountaints, He created the valleys, and the rivers! Our Creator's glory is infinite! We will never reach the peak of His majesty. He wants to take us to higher, showing us more and more of His beauty. Don't be discouraged by the climb, the wind, or the slippery trail. His hand is more than capable of guiding us to greater and greater heights!