Are you Ready?
You smile and respond. Yes, as ready as I’m gonna be.
“Are you nervous?” Kindness asks another question.
Yes, As nervous as I’m gonna be.
You both lock eyes and then burst into laughter at your last answer.
Kindness, you say, You’ll turn into Worry if you don’t stop checking in on me. It’ll all work out.
You’re right! Kindness said. See you at the top!
Will do.
The story is clear. The dreams of many are within reach and all you’ve got to do is climb one more ladder and BOOM! The Promised Land. No, not just for you but for all of those who’ve shown up with you on this day to cheer on the climb. Some have been there since day one while others have arrived along the way. No matter the relationship tenure, the goal is true for us all. Reach the top, change everyone’s trajectory.
No time to waste. You say thanks to everyone and begin to climb.
With each rung you draw closer to the common goals of many, so you are excited.
However Wisdom, the group’s strategist, met with you this morning to make you aware of the existence of obstacles that none of you can totally foresee from the ground. So you channel your excitement into embracing sober-mindedness.
As you climb, atmosphere-encompassing fog becomes thicker & thicker, making it more difficult to see ahead to the once clear top.
Dew from the fog makes a quick climb impossible and you lightly begin to question if you’re equipped for what may lie ahead. You continue your ascension anyway. You remind yourself, this is not just about you. Making this climb will allow for a much easier-to-navigate bridge to be created for future generations.
Just as you’re thinking that you can make it, torrential winds whirl and cut. You feel an overwhelming cold and aren’t sure if it’s only the temp or if your spirit has joined in. The conditions mount. Numb, bruised, and damp you say, Why did I come up here again? The higher you climb, the worse it gets. Until you hear, Hey it’s me, Hope!! You’re so close don’t give up!
Reinvigorated by Hope, you take the next rung. It’s frigid and your hands are so affected you almost let go as the pain of frostbite tries to settle in. Another voice pierces the fog. It’s me Patience! I’m sending up gloves. The gloves miraculously arrive in an instant. You slip them on and are immediately warmed from fingertips to toes. The gloves endearingly have your name, Vision, stitched so that you never forget who you are. Emboldened you keep moving up a few rungs.
It hits you—pressure. Soul-crushing, full on pressure. You can barely move forward, but you push anyway. Struggles of your gallant climb sound like war cries from the ground. This may be it, but I can’t stop now you say as you war cry your way onward. The fog has cleared enough for you to see that you’ve made it near the top and are one rung away from everything you’ve all strived towards for so long.
A burly, familiar voice rings out from the fog. It’s me Brave! Are you okay up there?! You belt out an emotion filled, No, but I won’t give up guys I promise. Brave shouts back, Then neither will we! All of a sudden Brave, Wisdom, Hope, Patience, and even the ever-so-meek Kindness were all on the final rung with me! Together we pushed and with the pressure now shared between us, we finally made it to the top.
As we stepped off of the ladder to our new home we paused and looked out over the valley from whence we came. We weren’t where we thought we were going.
In the confusion we were met by Thankful, a mountain top native. He explained how we had far surpassed our intended Made It Mole Hill for the rarely reached Make-a-way Mountain. We stared in disbelief. He was right. With the support from each member we were able to climb far higher than any of us had imagined. We embraced Thankful and cried. He welcomed us with opened arms and introduced us to Determination, the mountaintop blacksmith with all of the tools we’d need to bridge the gap for future generations.
Our new path still wouldn’t suit Easy, he left the group months ago. But Steadfast and her many children will cross the bridge just fine.