There were a
number of good things that happened to me in March. One of my favorites was
climbing the highest mountain in Ghana! :D If you know me well, you’ll know I
love the beauty of nature and the outdoors. (I’m no Barbie doll but well, I don’t
mind being one sometimes. ;) )
On the Bridge
After a good
four hours drive from the city and enjoying beautiful scenery along the way, Mount Afadjato was finally in view and boy, could I wait to get my hike on!
At the
beginning of the hike I was all pumped like ‘yeah, let’s do this!’ But barely
ten minutes after, I was panting for breath. LOL I can laugh about it now but I
tell you at that moment it was no joke. I was tired already. We (my friends and
I) were informed by our tour guide that it took about 45 minutes to climb and
another 45 minutes to descend for an average person. So I was thinking ‘OMG with
my slowing pace when will I ever get to the top of this mountain?’
The climb
became more and more steep such that I had to crawl on all fours. Yessss. And I
had to constantly cling on to jutting twigs and rocks on the mountain. We all
had to, or else you were assured of an unfortunate free fall. And sometimes I
stopped to sit on steep rocks along the way, and the view from those rocks
frightened me because the ground looked so far away and my balance wasn’t that
firm too.
With
laboured steps and lots of water to gulp down, I climbed on. I felt so drained and
had thoughts of just giving up. I was sweaty, extremely tired and my heart was
racing a thousand miles a minute, I was scared...it was so crazy. I thought my
chest was going to explode if I dared to continue. But of course, I dared to. I
asked God to give me the strength to continue cause I’m no quitter and truly,
He did. Each step I took gradually led me nearer and nearer to the peak and all
along the words of Donald Miller from his book, which I blogged about here kept flashing across my mind. He
said “Don’t kick yourself around if you can’t climb up out of a canyon real
quick, just do it slow.” (Which in my case was climb up a mountain.) This
helped me take it easy and move at my own pace. Thanks Don!
Somewhere
along the steep climb, one guy voiced out what was running through my mind. I
was thinking about how the whole climb and its toughness was like the Christian
life...how we Christians feel like giving up walking down the narrow road, how
I was tempted sometimes to change my path and go walk down the broad but
dangerous road, how some problems are like giant mountains in my life and how
painful it is to try and fight those mountains.
Following Jesus’ footsteps sure gets pretty
tough. But just like the joy awaiting me when I climbed to the peak, what urges
me on to keep following Jesus and obeying the commandments of God is the
assurance of my spot in Heaven. That’s what keeps me going in the toughest
times, you know.
As I neared
the top of the mountain, I could hear the happiness in the voices of those who
had already gotten there and I was like ‘oh yes! I’m almost there.’ I took all
the rests I had to take until I took those final steps which landed me on Mt.
Afadjato. I was so happy I had made it somehow...and I ended up being the
second female among close to ten ladies. Hehehe. It felt amazing to stand there
and look at the beautiful view and just enjoy the sweet breezes.
Finally at the top
“For lo, He who forms
the mountains, and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought;
who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth- the
Lord, the God of hosts, is His name!” Amos 4:13
I'm
thankful I didn’t even get a bruise and that nothing fatal occurred to anyone.
I was just grinning and grinning and soaking in the awesomeness of the mighty works
of God’s hands.
I'm thankful for my sweet friend here who carried my bag up and down the mountain :-*
After all
the pictures and relaxation, it was time to descend. I must say this part was
way easier and fun. It didn’t take so much effort and time, so we got to the
base of the mountain in a relatively shorter time.
Afterwards,
we headed to Wli Falls (the highest
in West Africa.) I was so drained and munched down my lunch on the bus in no
time. It was like a ten minutes drive away so we got there pretty fast.
Made some shy lil friends before the hike to the Falls :) (Prayers and love to the girl in the background)
I
couldn’t wait to see the falls but it took another hike (a much smoother one)
and crossing of about nine bridges (I know, tough luck) to get to the Falls.
But O, it was soo worth it.
“The heavens are
telling the glory of God; and the skies proclaim the work of His hands.” Psalm
19:1
The
cascading water from such great heights was totally amazing (No, I’m not
exaggerating.) I stood there just admiring the awesomeness of God and how great
He really is for creating all of these things...the Falls, the beautiful
mountains in the distance... and oh, the beautiful rainbow across the waterfall
which brings to mind the covenant God has with us, never to destroy the earth
with a flood. All these things dazzled me as I enjoyed God’s beauty in them.
“And God said, “This is
a sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living
creature that is with you, for all future generations: I set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”” Genesis
9:12,13
Spot the rainbow
No, I don't know why Tasha is holding a lappie here
On the drive
back to the city, I reflected on how God is strengthening me to conquer all the
mountains in this hard life, the frustrations, anger, raw pain, pride... When
the pain is just too real, when the tears won’t stop flowing, when I feel numb
inside and I have so many unanswered questions, I’ll always remember that no
matter what, I shall overcome. I will conquer all these mountains in my path
just like I did that day. And just like the peace and calm I found in gazing at
the wonders of God which surrounded me, I’ll run to God and bask in His peace
when peace is such a distant thought. I’ll continue to look for the good in the
bad and beauty in the very ordinary.
I don’t want
to forget this experience and how much it means to me. I don’t want to forget
how all these great and small wonders God created can soothe my soul. I want to
remember it all...
“O Lord, how manifold
are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all; the earth is full of thy
creatures.” Psalm 104:24
I’m looking forward to enjoying the many other
wonderful things He made to make us realize His great power to remind us that
if He did all these amazing things, then there’s absolutely nothing He can’t
fix in our lives. The hurt, the brokenness, the grief, the sadness, the
loneliness, the sickness, the confusion...He is more than capable to make all
of it right.
Met Jaime and Stephanie at the Falls, and they were apparently in my hostel back on campus. Small world.
Are you
having a hard time seeing the good in
this messy world? Well, you’re not alone,
I do too...But do take a look around you and find God’s beauty in all the mess...
the beautiful flowers, the tall green-leaved trees, the cool breeze, birds
flying across the blue sky, a serene beach, the streams and lakes, the
ah-mazing sunrises and sunsets. Because I did, and I tell you, it was worth it.
I’ve come to know that the peace I find in nature calms my troubled soul and
draws me nearer to the awesome God I serve.
Those mountains
in your life are worth conquering dear. Be strong and fight on. xoxo
Delali.
