Life, according to Brad

Brad was asked to write a bit for last week's NFC newsletter. I'm so proud of my husband for being a strong, brave, passionate person who loves being in God's creation. And he's also not afraid to talk to the whole world about pooping on a mountain :)

Here's his article:

It's Monday morning and I'm sitting at my desk reading through e-mails from co-workers who are stressing about deadlines and asking for project updates. All I can think about is how yesterday I was high on a rock face overlooking miles of rugged peaks, freezing and exhausted. Completely focused on the moment, and loving every minute of it.And now I'm here, sitting at a desk in a building with artificial light and heat and air conditioning and a café full of hot food just steps from where I sit. I don't even know what the weather's doing outside.

My head is spinning. I actually feel a bit dizzy as I come down from the euphoria of my latest adventure. All this everyday stuff seems so trivial in contrast, but I know that by the end of the week I will be engrossed in it once again like all these crazy "normal" people.

During the spring and summer months I spend as many weekends as possible in the mountains. Usually my time is spent climbing, backpacking, or camping.
In the mountains I find escape from the stresses of life, such as house chores, social commitments, shipping deadlines, and broken equipment (which I deal with a lot at work).

Instead I'm focusing on such things as: What's the absolute minimum amount of gear I can make do with on this trip? Am I running low on water? When and where am I going to poop? Are those storm clouds headed this way? Are those cute marmots we took pictures of during the day going to raid our food stash at night and leave us miles from civilization with nothing to eat?

There are many experiences to be had in the mountains. They can be a place to find challenges and test your physical and mental limits, or they can be a place to find solace and renewal. Often this entire range of experience can be covered in one 24-hour period.
As someone drawn to the physical and mental challenges found in the mountains, the types of trips I most enjoy don’t leave much time for reflection, but I find that once I return from a trip I have a much keener sense of what’s important and what is not.

The stark contrast of dealing with the basics for survival and then returning to civilization often spawns an inventory-taking process that helps me refocus my energies and frees me from getting caught up in things that aren’t directly related to God’s plan for my life.

These outings serve as a helpful reminder to me that the things I worry about during the week are a very small part of life and that the things that often seem urgent and important to me are not always what are urgent and important to God.

It’s easy to get caught up in the distractions of modern life and discover that God has simply been squeezed out. Are you simply pushed and pulled by the demands of daily living, or are you guided by a sense of purpose?I would encourage you to step out of your normal environment and take some time to assess the kinds of things you waste energy worrying about.

Matthew 6:25-34 provides a good reminder of what we should and should not be concerned with. (The Message is my favorite paraphrase because the imagery reflects things I have experienced in the alpine environment.)