" It's the climb..."

"...There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb..."
Alexander/Mabe

I remember the first time I heard this song, "The Climb" (as sung by Miley Cyrus) on the car radio. The girls had just jumped into the front and back seats after school, Clara calling, "I've got shotgun" (meaning "I get the front seat"...translated:  "I control the radio"), and even before closing the passenger door, had changed the station from my beloved NPR, to her favorite pop station.

I was resigned to driving in mental silence...amidst the crashing waves of pop music...when I heard the above quoted lyric.  We were stopped at the intersection of Ballas and Clayton, and I was so taken with this message that I forgot to watch for the light to turn green.  Clara nudged me, took one look at my face and said, "Emma, Emma, oh my gosh, here she goes again.  Look. I bet mom's going to be using this song on her blog."

I took my foot off the brake and we started moving again...much to the gratitude of the drivers in the line of cars behind me...while wiping an errant tear from my left temple before the girls could make, even more, fun of me for crying at a Miley Cyrus (!?!?!) song.  

From that point on, everytime it came on the radio, and one of their friends was in the car, they told the story of mom forgetting to drive because a Miley Cyrus (!?!?!?) song made her cry.   Then they'd laugh and say how they were just so sure that I would be using it to write a story for this blog.  So, even though it actually was the first thing I thought of doing...that day at the stoplight...I didn't!  Tell me now, who's the mature one in this family!?

Okay, so today I will write that post, but don't tell the girls.  I'm writing it, not because I heard the song again, but because it reminds me of something that shifted my sense of what life is all about. One of the girls was home from school, and we called a Christian Science practitioner to pray with us.  In our family, we have always encouraged the girls to have their own relationships with other spiritual caregivers who are available to pray with them...not just their moms or dads (our girls have two dads and three moms...so blessed!!!)

I think this is one of the greatest gifts we can offer our children...a relationship (or even just a conversation) with someone who is available for the pure and unparalleled purpose of seeing God's ever-present and all-powerful Love operating unspent and without lapse or variableness, in their lives.

In making the call I was aware of two things, my daughter was uncomfortable (I wanted her to feel at peace), and my daughter was missing school (and I wanted her to be in her right place where she would be having exciting new learning experiences).  But the practitioner we contacted in another state, who knows me really, really well, called me on it.  She said, "there is only one goal here, and it is not to get her back in school, it is about her experiencing God's infinite Love...only."  Wow.  How could I have forgotten, even for a second, that the only thing...the only thing...that is important, ever, is that we each feel the infinite nature of God's Love as the loved, loving, love-able reflection of His Being...as His child.

So I stopped. 

And started over again.  At the starting point.  As Eddy says, in one of my favorite statements from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures:

"The starting point of divine Science is that God, Spirit,
is All-in-all, and there is no other might, nor Mind."

My friend had also shared with me another statement from Science and Health about this search for God's All-in-allness in all things, moments, experiences, people, opportunities, and challenges:

"The search was sweet, calm, and buoyant with hope,
not selfish or depressing..."

She encouraged me to see that it is this "search," and only this search, that we are participating in every day.  And to remember that, if we are searching for God...keeping our eyes focused on finding indications of His presence in every situation, we aren't focused on ourselves So it can never be selfish or depressing. 

You know, I can look back at the spiritual landscape of my life, and see that when I am truly in this searching-only mode (rather than the destination-based seeking of human goals and milestones, in my practice of spirituality) every moment is sweet with opportunities to find God's face in everyone I meet and every situation I encounter. I walk calmly on, knowing that I am not a human with out-comes based criterias for success or failure, but a child of God seeking her Father's presence all the time...a searcher and a re-searcher...every single second of every single day. And I discover, that in that searching place, every step of my journey is satisfying.  There are no destinations, only the joy of the climb... or the search...itself.  Thinking out from this search-based way of life, I could easily see how living in the space of hope...hoping to see God's presence more fully realized...would buoy me when the crashing waves of personal sense, or dashed dreams of disappointment, tried to shatter my peace.

My daughter and I had a really happy day. The keynote for our adventure was to focus on another statement from Science and Health that had been shared with her as inspiration:

"And Love is reflected in love.."

We looked for instances of love and loving as indications of God's presence, rather than letting discomfort, when, fear, or "what if" define her experience, throughout the day.  The next morning, she was back in school.

I think we both had fun as we spent the day hunting, searching for Love, God in every moment.  Together we were explorers on an adventure, not climbing towards some elusive summit...physical perfection, or working towards a human destination...school, but looking for the face of God, step by step.

We are all climbers.  I love this perspective of myself as a searcher, who loves the climb.  I look at each hill, mountain, sea, valley, ravine, wilderness, cliff, or avalanche with the same hunger, the same eagerness to take a step forward in finding God's presence.  To be surprised by the beauty of His holiness, His look of Love, the strength of His arms, the sweetness of His song.

It's all about the climb. 

I have decided to post the entire lyric to this really wonderful Miley Cyrus...yes, Miley Cyrus...song below.  I think it says perfectly what I am feeling today. 

with love to all my fellow climbers...and remember, you are never alone, it's never too steep...you are on belay with a God who loves you and will never let you fall.

always...really, always...

Kate
Kate Robertson, CS

" I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
The pain I'm knowing
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I,
I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on,

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about
It's all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith"

[photo credits:  C. Hagenlocher 2009/M. Trevail 2009]