The Olympics start Friday (if you live under a rock and did not know). I love the Olympics. So much fun to watch. I was reading yesterday about the cycling event, being held on Saturday. The air quality has been of utmost concern for the games; the smog in Bejing is crazy bad. The article I was reading talked about how in addition to the heat and smog, the cyclists will be contending with a course that looks like this:

I ride my bike a fair amount. I like to ride. I even like the hills a little. But this...I mean...come on. those spikes are the mountains the riders will be contending with. Yikes.

Sometimes I feel like this regarding the things of faith. You cruise along on the flat ground, no effort, and it is all good. Life is sweet, you think you've got it all figured out. And then...hello spiky hill. And another. I know that these are the kinds of places we grow -- when we feel like we are climbing straight up, and then to be met with a free-fall and another climb. But it is not much fun; in fact, just like riding a bike up a mongo hill, it HURTS. Sometimes every part of you.

I guess something to ponder -- the next time the hills come, remember where you have been. That last spike is gonna be sweet for the Olympians as they have conquered so much already. May it be the same for us as believers; look back on what you have been through thus far, and be glad when you crest the next hill. You are stronger for it, and more prepared for the mountains that lie in the future.