Keep Lifting Your Knees

My soul experiences peace when surrounded by God’s creation. I think this is why I love hiking and trail running. Nature offers a unique sense of serenity that I struggle to find elsewhere.

Despite the feeling of calm I find amidst the mingled shadows of the trees, hiking can be challenging. The ground is uneven. Hiking trails contain fallen branches, rocks, roots, and more that serve as obstacles. These, at times, can be significant.

I keep my eyes on the ground. I watch for hurdles that could cause me to stumble. Running uphill, taking quick steps, avoiding hazards along my way. Soaked in sweat and blanketed in a smothering summer heat, inevitably, I tire. These are the times when I forget to lift my knees.

Lifting my knees is hard work. It takes concentration. It takes physical exertion. And frankly, sometimes I don’t want to lift my knees anymore. Yet, I have to keep moving.

Recently, on a long trail run, I forgot to lift my knees. The toe of my sneaker caught on a tree root and I took to the ground. The ground was not forgiving, but hard and sharp with edges and ends. With a sigh of disappointment, brushing dirt from my leg into a breeze, I thought, “I need to remember to lift my knees.”

Getting tripped up is a surefire way to slow progress. Momentum is lost. Injuries need be assessed. Concentration needs be refocused.

Life is a path unpaved. Pain and struggles will appear as obstacles and we must find a way to keep moving through them.

If exhaustion creeps, a fall will feel like being swallowed by it. Discouraging you with delay. Disappointing you with fault. Overwhelming you with obstacles yet to come.

Hardship feels like an endless loop full of obstacles to break your stride. But each and every time you make a pass along that unpaved path, you’re creating a firmer and smoother ground. This offers the ability to raise your head for a moment and see things beyond the trail in front of you.

Each and every struggle I experience in life leaves me better equipped for the next. Learning from mistakes. Growing. Offering myself more grace.

When life gets difficult it can feel impossible. The barriers feel as though they are just too big to traverse. But just keep moving.

If you fall, pick yourself up. Offer yourself grace, and keep moving on. Your path doesn’t end here. Take it slow.

And keep lifting your knees.