The Ascent - Part 2

Dan Stanford
Nov 14
2 min read

The Ascent - Part 2

Do you love working the yard? Green thumbs. Manicured edges. Better Homes & Gardens vibes. You yard hard.

Or are you not a yard person? You live next to retirees whose lawns are emerald carpets, while yours is… fifty percent grass, fifty percent dandelion democracy. They shape their bushes; I let mine pursue a more “natural look.”

Either way, we all know: a great lawn starts with soil. No one plants a golf course in the desert—unless you’re Vegas, which is why I love Moses’ origin story in Exodus 3. We meet him on the far side of the wilderness, herding sheep across brown nothingness to Horeb—the mountain of God. Not exactly lush. Not exactly promising. And yet, God calls him there: “Go to Pharaoh.” Translation: climb the impossible.

Moses does what we do: “Who am I?” God doesn’t hand him a mirror and a pep talk. He hands him a promise: “I will be with you.” The elevation comes from Presence, not polish.

I think about the mountains we face—K2-sized diagnoses, Everest-high anxieties, the half-pipe obstacles that show up at mile 12 when your quads cramp and your courage leaks. I’ve been there (shout-out to Tough Mudder’s “Everest”). I leapt, grabbed a stranger’s arm, and belly-flopped grace-style over the top. Jason? He practically pole-vaulted it. Different forms, same heart.

That’s the climber’s tool we all carry: heart. Fancy gear helps, but heart is what keeps you moving when the carpet ends and the ice begins. Paul’s trail mantra still works: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Strength doesn’t arrive by wishing; it grows by following—step, breath, prayer, repeat.

So here’s our next ascent: tend the soil you’ve got, even if it looks like Midian. Ask for Presence over polish. And when the wall rises… run, leap, reach. Heart up. God’s with you.

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The Ascent - Part 2

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