“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV

I live in a town aptly named for its terrain. I can’t run without a hitting a hill, even on my own street. When I was younger and “wiser” I didn’t feel like I had a good run unless I ran steadily the whole time, even up and down hills. My experienced-based wisdom knows this isn’t true, especially with the terrain I’m running now. And the more I learn about running, the more I realize that I need to treat hills differently, if only to save my poor knees. Sometimes I slow down, sometimes I take smaller steps, sometimes I change my form, and sometimes I even walk (ever feeling like you are moving, but not forward? I don’t run that hill anymore).

So how do I tackle these hills?

I prepare with a good stretch.

I train regularly.

I slow down my pace after the hills.

And I cut myself some slack – my body’s not ready to do the same type of hill all the time. After all, not all hills are created equal.

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What are the hills in our lives? They might be meetings, family gatherings, hard conversations, or even going to church. We can’t avoid them, but we can help ourselves prepare for them.

Stretch: Spend time reading, and rereading, and rereading Scripture (I find reading about the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians and love in 1 Corinthians helps prepare my heart before I even leave the house).

Train: Spending time with God and in Scripture everyday. Just do it (I thought the Nike reference was appropriate given today’s content).

Slow down: Don’t clutter your schedule in the days immediately following a “hill”.

And cut yourself some slack: Need a nap? Take one. Didn’t get the laundry done? That’s why we own more than one set of clothes. No time to cook dinner? Delivered pizza counts as a hot meal 🙂

What “hills” do you anticipate needing to tackle this week? How can you prepare yourself to climb them?

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV