JOY IN THE JOURNEY

I remember when I was just a young girl my Dad had us hike one of the
highest peaks in the United States. It was on that long hike I learned
so much about myself, and so much about my own fathers success. We had
been warned by my father to wear for proper shoes, I couldn't find
them and I didn't want to be left behind so I quickly grabbed my black
shiny church shoes, with no socks on, you got it straight a true
recipe for a big watery blisters. We headed up the trail, about a
fourth of the way my father made us stop. by
then my feet had begun to bleed. I was never so relieved. It was then that my Dad looked down
and said "sweetie I am not going to carry you, you have two choices, to go back down alone, or take of your shoes off and

hike the rest of the distance with out them". My brothers always in a big hurry,

filling like they were in some kind of race to the top of there manhood. Got up

and began to nag us all to get going. My Dad shouted out and said "hey slow
down you may not think you have got to rest, but you have to adjust".

Boys that they are said "ah come on Dad lets go" of
course I just simply didn't want to move at all, RaNelle get up if you
rest to long your body will began to shut down and you wont have the
strenght to draw on, either way there is a delicate balance". We watched
as other groups of young kids race by us, we felt so frustrated as we
moved so slowly, watching them sneer with a boast at the fact that they were
gaining advancement on us. We all seemed to have this need to make the
ascent with speed and perfection except for my Father, he seemed quiet
and focused. As we neared the top my feet now hurt with every step not
only by the blisters, but by the needles from the pine trees that had
pierced my foot. I could see that the top was covered with snow and
the last mile would have to be a barefoot, the whole time I had
complained with real misery and true whining at its best. My dad again
asked us to stop I was now exhausted and wanted to simply give up, I
saw a few of the groups ahead and noticed that they had been the ones
that pasted us up earlier but stopped at the point of the snow, it was there too
that they no longer had the strength to carry on, they had not taken
the time to reserve the energy needed to allow there bodies to adjust
and when they had finally taken a short rest they remained stopped for
way to long, you could see there expressions of total defeat. As we
passed my Father then said "you know its in your attitude is were the
key to success lies, knowing how to balance out the hike upward, and
most of all the largest reason for this hike was so that you could
learn the JOY in the journey. Making the last little bit had to come
from me, the determination had now filled my heart, my soul seemed to
want to rise to the occasion. In the last yard I no longer felt pain
nor the cold bitter snow, I saw the goal in sight. There at the top of
the world I entered my name on the list of those who had made the peak
of Mount Whitney. I don't even remember the hike down. What I do now
know is that in our journey to be perfect and work hard to get to the
top we forget that its in the journey. If we have worn ourselves down,
emotional burned out, pushed by others to beat them, then we find that

we are out harmony of heavenly assistants, we have not learned the lessons

the Savior has taught that man MIGHT have JOY perfection is not the goal,

standing tall and filled with that wonderful feeling of freedom and achievement

at the top is the ultimate high.