What Is In A Name?

Lessons from the mountain…

This post is long overdue..:) It took me longer than I expected. Hope this post will challenge you to take on something you consider impossible. Does not have to be a real mountain, it can be anything you consider a mountain in your life…

Lenana peak

Over Easter, my friends and I decided to do something different. Many people look forward to any holiday to get much-needed rest. However, this time, we decided to hike Mount Kenya. To prepare ourselves for this enormous yet achievable task, we decided that we would need to first hike the small mountains. Two weeks before Mount Kenya, we hiked elephant hill, to date I still do not believe it is a hill, it was too hard for me.

Most people who know me, they say I have unmatched energy levels until I am sleepy or hungry... I am that person who still wants to play when everyone is serious (I am told it is annoying. For real? ) and still has some reservoir of energy when everyone KOs! Several remedies have been recommended, but they seem to be failing miserably; I am told getting married will do the trick. haha! Does it come with a tame him manual? As I had pointed out, when we did elephant hill, I really struggled and many people were not convinced that I would make it in Mount Kenya.

A week and a half before Mt Kenya, I still did not believe I do this. My argument was, if I cannot climb a hill, what of a mountain?  However, my friend convinced me that it was an opportunity of a lifetime. Lesson number one, YOU NEED PEOPLE WHO BELIVE IN YOU WHEN YOU DO NOT THINK YOU CAN. These people can be your teachers, mentors, family, but truth is, you need such people.

D day! Good Friday. When we got to Narumoru, we could not see the mountain, for a moment, I was relieved; honestly, I hoped it had moved. I was not fully prepared. I mean, who embarks on 26 kilometers journey after four days training? It was too late to go back. We got to the gate, and instead of the gates opening, the heavens did. A false start? It seems we were getting more than we bargained for. We knew it was going to rain, but no one told us it would be on the first day. Day one was a walk in the park, literally. A clear marked path, actually, cemented. It does not get better than that!

When we started hiking, I had decided that I was going to be in the leading pack, and my slogan was “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” Leading I did, in fact, I was the pacesetter the whole way. You heard me right, the whole way! God did strengthen me, and that leads me to lesson number 2, IN THE JOURNEY OF LIFE, YOU HAVE TO WALK AT YOUR OWN PACE. I remember my friends complaining that we were moving too fast, but I had to, otherwise I would have struggled trying to catch up with the others. Believe me, no one wants to be second, maybe I was a bit selfish. :)  Leading all the way to the top taught me another lesson, YOUR PAST MISTAKES DO NOT INFLUENCES YOUR PRESENT SUCCESS, YOUR RESOLVE DOES.I really struggled in when hiking elephant hill but in Mount Kenya, it was a walk in the park, literally! Have you been keeping a record of your past mistakes? Are you feeling unworthy because you did something wrong? What is that doing to you? It is killing you slowly but surely, one day, you will have nothing left…Decide you that your past mistakes do not define you and face the future with confidence. Ken and Vic still believe I was high on something. It must have been the HOLY SPIRIT.

With my experience from the ‘hill’ still very fresh, I decided this time my approach was going to be different. I was not going to focus on the ultimate goal (lenana peak) rather; I will be more concerned on where I was. For me, the next few hundred kilometers were more important than the summit. Lesson number two. SOMETIMES YOUR DREAMS CAN BE SO BIG, INSTEAD OF INSPIRING YOU TO ACT, THEY LEAD TO INACTION. Dream big act small. It works; life is a journey, not the destination. Savor every moment of it, my friend’s mum once told me; “Keep going and while you are at it, take every opportunity to smell the flowers by the roadside. You never go down the same road twice.”

Day two…The FOGGY EXPERIENCE, we were already nine kilometers into the mountain. The vegetation was different and so was the weather. Surprisingly, it was not as cold as we expected. The fog was heaven sent or was it heaven bound? What matters, it served the intended purpose, at least from my point of view. We could barely see where we were going but we knew we were on the right path (thank God for the amazing potters). Also, with it came another important revelation, SOMETIMES YOU DO NOT NEED TO SEE WHERE YOU WILL END UP, PROVIDED YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AND ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH. Should i call it lesson number 3? Bottom line is, never confuse vision with sight. You need not to see the big picture provided you have already conceptualized it. Therefore, for me, the next ten steps were more important than the 1000 we needed to cover. Same thing with life, you need to cut your dreams into sizeable achievable pieces, that way, you are able to slain the dragon.

We started our march to the top at 2 am. Yes, two am. Why anyone would do that, you wonder! It was going to be the shortest distance we were going to cover yet, the hardest. The terrain was hard it was extremely cold. Again, we knew where we wanted to go yet we did not see the peak. It made sense when we were descending; no one believed that we went up through that route. Another lesson, TRY DOING THINGS AT NIGHT; off course lawful ones ..:)

Another great lesson I learnt is, THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE ARE FOR FREE. Think about your family, think about the amazing people you call your friends. It was mid month,i was really broke..weeh!! That expedition needed tenacity, money can never buy you good health, it can never buy you strength it can buy you many things in life. Always thank God for all the free things He has given you mostly, for his GRACE.

The sunrise...

THE BIGGEST LESSON, GOD IS REAL…

He is a God of the mountain, how else can I explain how such a big land mass can stand so tall, all alone.

The sunrise had God written all over it!

And the clouds looked like his cushion..

I asked for His strength He granted me, we asked Him to hold the heavens, He did, we prayed for safe expedition, He granted us. HE HEARS, AND HE ANSWERS! What are you asking for? Take it too HIM in prayer and as you pray, listen to Him speak.

With that, the expedition was over…

We had triumphed over a seemingly insurmountable challenge

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Shout out to the lovely peeps that we did this together. Ken and Vic..bffs.hehe..BenJoy, LeahALvin,Tush and Paulo,Grace and Aggie, Grace and Gachau…Finally, our amazing guides and potters….

Tempted to share a video with you..:)

Ooh, and for those who doubt, we got to the peak. Lenana Peak 3840

Next challenge Mount Kilimanjaro..

Hope you enjoyed and got a few tips…

Wahinya….