Nice right? Tis a picture i took on one of the hikes in Central Nature Reserve...never heard of right? Heh. Today was my 4th time on this 3 to 4 hr hike. Took this on the 3rd hike.

Somehow, today's route felt alil more arduous than the previous times. Or may be it feels tougher because i've forgotten how tough the previous times were. The memory of a goldfish, i have. Did some thinking today while on the hike and it struck me how the journey paralleled our lives on earth.

The hike was tough at some points and easier at others...
Just like life is and will continue to be

It was blazing at some parts and shady at others...
Just like how life gets unbearable at times, yet pleasurable at other times

At some point of the hike, I wasn't sure how long more it wld take, how far we were from the finishing point, where it was or what exactly lay ahead of me... And this is how it is with life, isn't it? We don't know when we will reach the end of life's journey, how long more we have to be journeying or what lies ahead of us...

What we did know this afternoon was that we were assured we would eventually reach our destination, we knew where we would end up and the general direction we were travelling. Just like in life, we, as God's children, have the assurance that we have a destination we are aiming for and will eventually reach. We may not know every twist and turn that comes along but we know where we are headed.

There were points i took time to enjoy my surroundings...the flora, the butterflies, the clouds...especially the scenery from the top of the bridge. Other times, i was too busy avoiding obstacles and trying not to fall that i was blind to the beauty that was around me. There were times i felt weary and tired and wished for the walk to end, but pushed myself on for the sake of pride, friends with me and *heh* exercise.

So it is with life i guess. There are occasional times (of course, we shd aim for more of these) we stop to admire the beauty that God created for our enjoyment. We marvel at God's creation and enjoy what nature has to offer. There are other times we are too busy in our work and wallowing in our problems that we fail to see the good things in life. Family, good friends...whatever God has given to us so freely. We dwell instead on our unhappiness and what we don't have. There are, and will be times, where we feel weary and tired, not knowing why we are doing what we're doing and perhaps even wishing things would just come to an end. But then, life isn't all about us, is it? Sometimes, we just have to push ourselves on, for the sake of family, friends, faith...and "exercise". Just as we exercise our physical bodies to build our bodies up and stay fit and healthy, each time we rely on God's strength and push ourselves on in the face of difficulty, we build up our character and we grow 'fitter' in Christ.

hmm...not bad for a day's hike, eh?