Being Strong

As I close my eyes for the night, I've got this weekend's renewal retreat on my mind. To be perfectly honest, I didn't want to go. I told myself it wouldn't be the same without my cousin Amy, who went with me last year. I told myself that I didn't have the energy to go. I told myself I wasn't feeling strong enough right now, to be social, to connect, and to share. The truth is that I needed to go, Amy or no Amy, to find that energy, to regain that strength. It wasn't by accident that I wore my Ellie's Explorers shirt to climb the Challenge Tower yesterday.

Click the t-shirt to support Ellie's Stroll Against Epilepsy.

Ellie is one of my heroes; 

I wrote about her {here} back in 2012.

She was on my heart as I ascended that fifty-foot tower.

I decided to take the climb slow and steady,

to stay in the moment.

I noted the breeze as I rested on the ledge

and was keenly aware of the warm sun on my skin.

Sometimes those blocks seemed just out of reach

and at one point, I almost said enough.

That's when the coach on the belay pointed out that

I was only a body's length from reaching my goal.

So despite shaky legs and weakened hands, I kept going.

You'll have to take my word about the breathtaking view at the top.

Life's a climb like that.

Sometimes things get challenging and it seems like our goals are

 just out of reach.

But we forge on,

cheered on by those who love us,

stopping to rest when we need to,

and making sure 

to be in the moment,

to breathe in the journey,

to enjoy the view along the way.

Thank you, Ellie, for showing me what

being strong 

looks like, sounds like & feels like.