I'M GIVING UP

It has been quite a while since I last posted anything here and a lot has happened between then and now. But most significant of all for me has been making it up to the top of Africa for the fourth time in my life; a grueling 5 days hiking up to Point Uhuru on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Any seasoned mountain climber will confirm that this is not at all an easy task. As I said, it was my fourth time but that does not mean it was any easier than the first three times. If we are talking about the fun, yes it was much more fun than all the other times, but definitely not any easier.

The words "Give Up" resounded in my head so many times and it was the most sensible thing to do. However, my ego could not let me do it. My body was at its limit but my heart was not yet there and I held on to the end and it was all worth it. Nothing beats the feeling of getting to the end of your journey despite the speed-bumps that you encountered along the way.

That experience and a few others got me thinking about giving up and its actual definition. So I decided to get the meaning out of the dictionary. 

Give; to hand something to somebody so that they can look at it, use it or keep it for a time

 Up; towards or in a higher position

(Source; Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary 7th Edition)

So you have hit a road-bump in your career, you still do not seem to be heading towards your dreams, things just do not seem to be working out for you; and the only thought you have is to Give Up. 

Well, I know the feeling. Many times things never seem to be working out in our favor. We seem to be looking for the perfect job, the perfect relationship, the perfect life and it looks as if we are in this on our own, let down by God, enough for some of us to even ask ourselves why He has forsaken us. 

And it is all just like the many trips I have taken up Mt. Kilimanjaro, where every step is harder and more challenging than the previous one. Where all you body keeps telling you is just Give Up!!

Well then, I do choose to Give Up. I choose to give up, not by letting go and throwing in the towel, but by handing over that situation to "Somebody" who is in a higher position, someone who says He is able to bear much more load than I can ever imagine, someone who has all the answers for all that I am going through.

Yes, I choose to Give all my worries, anxieties, problems, future and all these things that cause me tears and sorrows Up to a God who is able to bear it all. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

This God has declared that He has my best interest at heart, that He is looking out for me and has it all planned out for my life. A life that I know I want to live for Him. And that is why I choose to Give Up when all seems to be breaking me to pieces.

So just like the feeling you get when you are at the top of Kilimanjaro, having ignored your body telling you to turn back and give up, being at the ultimate destination of your journey, savoring the beauty of God's amazing and indescribable creation; having no words to say just how it feels... that is how the experience is going to be when we have held on to a God who can get us there, when we Give Up to Him, when it stops being about what we cannot do and being about what He is able to do, and letting Him take control.

Yes, let go, let Him have His way; just GIVE UP!!!