In Trinidad where I grew up, I remember loving the outdoors and playing games typical for girls my age. However, I did not participate in a sport at school. In my teenage years, my friends and I had picnics at the Royal Botanic Gardens located in Port-Of-Spain, just north of the Queens Park Savannah. The landscaped site occupies 62.8 acres and contains some 700 trees. I enjoyed the beauty of the flowers, birds and the hills. I often climbed the hills and would experience leg cramps. All of this would change in January 1995 when I visited my ailing mother. My daughters Monique and Jo-ann wanted to experience the excitement of going on a picnic at Maracas waterfall.
The waterfall, which is surrounded by mountains, green valleys and numerous rivers, is the tallest and most beautiful waterfall in Trinidad. It stands at 290 feet high and is located in the northern area of St Joseph in the Maracas Valley. Its location makes it the most scenic place for hiking, camping, picnics, swimming and bird-watching. Getting to St Joseph from Morvant, the village where we stayed was over an hour. We took two maxi-taxis to get there, one that took us to San Juan and from there another, which took us to St Joseph.
On our arrival, I was fearful about mountain-climbing but my older daughter Monique quickly quieted my fears by gently helping and encouraging me. Remembering not to look back but look forward, I persevered. After climbing for a comfortable thirty minutes, we arrived at the top. The scenery with the trees and the waterfall was breathtaking. As I sat to eat my sandwich, a beautiful butterfly with bright and magnificent colors landed for a second on a tree-leaf right in-front of me. As I enjoyed its beauty, I realized that I had not only overcome my fear of mountain-climbing but my thinking had shifted to a new dimension —that there was beauty at every stage of perseverance.
I believe this statement suggests that you and I have the power to persevere and overcome life’s issues. We should not allow them to overcome us. In every situation, it is best to persevere to reach the purpose God has in mind for us before the foundation of the world. I encourage you to refrain from focusing on your past. If you do, you would lose your grip on your future and fall into a state of regression. In this state, you are less likely to move into the phase of life that God is preparing for you and you would miss the tremendous blessing that awaits you. You see, when I was climbing that mountain, if I had looked back, I would have lost my grip—my goal of reaching to the top of the mountain. I might have fallen and never wished to climb a mountain again. But I kept on believing that I would reach my destination and I did. This suggests that we should always look forward, never backward.
Let me give you a real life example. I have been persevering for the past sixteen years caring for our daughter Jo-Ann with mental challenges. I left my job at the Commonwealth to care for her, foregoing the possibility of a pension. I invested in our daughter’s life and never looked back or regretted my decision. I experienced how our daughter, who the doctors said would never read or write again, accomplished that and more; and, although she still has a long way to go, her quality of life has improved. Moreover, in the past few years God has directed me to other important work such as writing and teaching. If I had regressed I would have missed God’s blessings. I want to encourage you to look forward never backward.
In the Bible, we read of Apostle Paul, the greatest Apostle ever lived, who traveled to many places preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and strengthening the early churches. He was not always a Christian. He persecuted Christians and was responsible for Stephen’s death in Acts 7:59. God did not look at his past when he called Paul to serve. He knew that Paul would do the work of an Evangelist, that he would suffer for Christ’s name sake, and he did, being imprisoned, stoned, shipwrecked (2 Corinthians 11:25), and finally martyred. Because of his past, Paul could have neglected God’s call, but instead, he did a great work leaving behind his Epistles to remind us that joy, peace and beauty of the glorified Christ await us as we persevere in our faith.
Paul believed in pressing on to the high calling of God in Christ (Philippians 3:14). Pressing on means looking forward not looking backward and holding the hands of Jesus who orders your steps (Psalm 119:133) as you face life issues. He carries you during the most difficult times, plants your feet on solid ground, establishes your goings and at the end He puts a praise on your lips (Psalm 40:2-3). Just as God gave me the strength and courage not only to hold on during my sixteen-year struggle but also to climb that mountain, he would also keep you. God is the supreme authority who makes everything work according to his will (Romans 8:28). At each stage of your struggle He is rewarding you with something beautiful similar to the butterfly that I encountered— after I persevered through my journey to the mountain top. Today, begin to look at your beautiful life. Life has issues but as you persevere on life’s continuum you encounter beauty. Be blessed!
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