What doesn't kill you can make you stronger

Have you ever attempted something you were not totally comfortable doing, where you had no expertise or experience to lean on, you were not guaranteed success, and worst case, if things didn’t go well, it could kill you?

That was me climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa!

I have a good friend who has been climbing for most of his life. After his wife died of early-onset Alzheimer’s, he decided to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as a fundraiser for early onset Alzheimer research. Then he asked me to join him.

You need to know that I am not a climber. Although, I do not have a fear of heights, the older I get the more I try to stay away from things that could kill me. I agreed to join this adventure because I wanted to support my friend.

By the grace of God and through allot of hard work, we all summitted the mountain successfully and raised significant funds.

I remember getting back to our hotel after having been on the trail for 9 days and calling my wife. I sobbed! I knew it was rare that people died climbing Kilimanjaro, but at 19,300 feet of elevation, it did happen.

A great question for us to ponder is how can we successfully take on challenges like this on our journey in life? Although we may not be attempting something with life and death consequences, we all are tested with trials that can be very difficult to overcome.

Here are the steps we took to prepare for this adventure. I hope you find these to be helpful:

Seek wise counsel.
1. We talked with others who had successfully climbed Kilimanjaro before our climb.
2. Our guide, Emmanuel, had successfully climbed the mountain over 340 times.
3. We needed to have the proper equipment for our climb. Our climbing company recommended what was needed, as did other sites on-line. Our boots and warm weather gear were invaluable.

Confront the brutal facts. Oxygen deprivation can cause serious health issues and even death. Because Kilimanjaro is 19,300 feet, several of us took medication prior to and during our climb to help our bodies deal with this reality.

Follow counsel from trusted advisors. On the mountain, we were reminded by our guide on numerous occasions that we were not in a race through the Swahili saying “Pole, Pole (poe-lay)” which means slowly, slowly or slowly in an unhurried way. He knew that the main challenge we faced was acclimating our bodies to reducing atmospheric oxygen levels as we increased our elevation. Going more slowly and taking more days was how we accomplished this.

Exercise discipline. Our entire team did stair climbs, dune hikes, and ran with weighted backpacks for 4-6 months before we landed in Africa.

Pray. I have personally experienced God move mountains in my life (Matt. 21:21). It is only appropriate that we talk with the one who not only created mountains, but who can also move them, as we face challenges and opportunities.

Respect what could happen. Virtually every night, helicopters were removing climbers from the mountain because of injury. We followed a regimented climbing, resting, and eating schedule every day of the climb.

Be open to new challenges and the impossible. I would not have had this experience had I been closed to taking on a challenge that, at first blush, appeared to be impossible. Proverbs 13:12 says “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

So, let’s approach new challenges and opportunities with our eyes wide open. Follow the steps listed above and see how high you can climb on your journey. Let me know if you’d like any help taking on a new challenge, hopefully one that does not risk life and limb!

Photo of Doug, Mark, Steve, and Ben at 19,300 feet, taken by our assistant guide at sunrise.