The Mountain

Written by Jill Tackett in the month of July 2021. Breast Cancer Chemotherapy started on 7/1/2021.

When your plans change and you are looking at a mountain and where you must be is on the other side, you need to begin your journey by starting to move.? You wouldn’t choose it.? You may deny that it is yours to climb.? It is difficult.? The path is steep, and the road is treacherous.? It is the only way.? You keep moving.? You keep believing.? You keep hope alive.

You won’t get anywhere by being stagnant and feeling sorry for yourself or asking why me.? Complaining or falling into negative thoughts doesn’t help to keep moving – BELIEVE – believe in God, believe that it is the only path, believe in what you know and believe in your experience and abilities to get you through.? It doesn’t help to have countless meetings about it.? Get the information you need to start and start.? There will be some ambiguity.? All your journey won’t be defined or on a road map to follow.? Create a plan.? Set goals and milestones and track your progress.?

Through this journey, you must travel alone – the brunt of it is on you for it is your path.? Decisions, strength, endurance, and plan for the day are yours.? Along the way, you will meet and work with others that help direct you.? Before you received news that the mountain was part of your path, they were strangers – now they are trusted advisors and friends.? Family, friends, and coworkers will want to help and offer your encouragement. They celebrate each time that you successfully make it through a hard time on your path ever upwards, and they worry about the next time that the path has obstacles and roadblocks.? You tell them it wasn’t that bad (even when you are in pain, tired, and feel like you are unable to take another step).? You say next climb will be easier – you know more about how to plant your feet, what to hold onto and have more knowledge and experience.

Emotions are ok.? You will experience many of them and some all at once.?

You will be afraid and anxious – turn you’re your fear into faith.? Anger will occur and may become rage, scream about it, and let it go - don’t become bitter.

Sadness will come and go – tears may flow more often than you want to admit.? Grief will be experienced because of the losses – there will be some parts of you that you will lose – those parts don’t define you.?

Joy and happiness will come and go along the path as your supporters reach out to you and provide funny stories and amazing photos that remind you of the good parts of life. ?The items are still on the side of the mountain that you are traversing and will be on the other side too.

You will become discouraged when you stumble, and you will also celebrate when you make your goals and milestones.? Trust the process of walking up the path.? Dust yourself off.? Tomorrow will be a new day.

A calmness and peace may come over you on your steepest parts of the climb – this is God reminding you that you really aren’t alone.?

As you are climbing you may not be able to see where you want to be – you do not know exactly what it looks like on the other side.? You must traverse a few steep mountain cliffs and around a few rocky mountain paths to reach your destination.? The view may not look like what you had planned or what you expected when you reach the summit.? It may be better.? Your new adventure awaits on the other side. ??Your mountain is resilient and so are you. ?You keep moving even if it is baby steps.? Your resilience is unwavering.?