The Little Nug that Could

This week I had the incredible opportunity to hike Mt. Mulanji, a massive piece of earth here in Malawi, with my team, another mission family, and the two other Hands On guys working in Lilongwe.

Climbing this 10,000 foot peak (of which I only made 8,000 ft) was nothing but a God thing for me! Now, let me explain… the name “Nug” is short for “Nugget,” a term some of my camp counselor friends used for the precious campers who just struggled more than others, always at the back of the line, gasping for breath to make it up, as we hiked with our girls every week at GA camp. It was a term of endearment.

This week, I was that nug!! We began what was supposed to be a 3 day hike (which turned into a 4 day hike) up to the peak and back on Tuesday. A sweet 11 year old mk was with us, and she wasn’t too happy about the hike in the beginning! For the first 10 minutes, I was thanking the Lord so much that He had given me someone to encourage so I could take my mind off of my own misery up the mountain. She even reminded me of former campers I loved! … well, that was the first 10 minutes! The rest of the 4 days, that precious girl had to encourage me!

After two days of huffing and puffing, spending a night at a cabin a little lower than we planned the first night, we finally made it to the cabin at the bottom of the hike to the peak. The mountain was simply gorgeous! The farther we hiked, the more beautiful it became. Once we got to the final cabin, I was amazed at the scenery around us. It was completely beautiful! We were above the clouds, and sometimes in the clouds. There was a wonderful stream beside the cabin we could sit at and walk down, and awesome rocks we could sit on that overlooked the valley way-way below (that we could see when the clouds would part). It really was amazing!

The third day we were all supposed to do a semi-technical climb to the peak. You know, one of those, jumping on boulders, sliding on rock faces, slip-and-you’ll-die (because we didn’t have ropes), kind of hikes. Now, while the girl inside of me is all for that kind of adventure, the girl on the outside is not steady-footed, in fact, she’s just plain clumsy! All the way up the mountain I debated on whether I should go all the way to the peak. I wanted to, but I couldn’t decide if it was stubbornness, or pride that was pushing me because all the while I could hear that familiar small voice in the back of my thoughts- “Don’t do it. Just sit, stay with me. Let me pour into you. Be still, be quiet, just BE with me.” It’s that same still small voice I heard before getting on the zipcord and breaking both my wrists when I was little, the same voice I heard right before I went up with on the ski slopes and then fell off the side of the mountain!

So, by day 3, I had made the decision to spend some alone time at the cabin while the rest tried to make it to the peak in the rain! Let me tell you, did God ever have something in store for me! I found a spot by the stream on a rock, hidden, I was all alone, and NO ONE in the world knew exactly where I was at that moment. And, it was just me and Jesus, and it was SO nice. I felt like we had found our own little hide-out, where no one could find us. It was really special. As I listened to the babbling brook beside me, He led me to Psalm 68. I had to read it several times, Every word of it just blew me away as I learned something new about God’s character!! I’m telling you, it overwhelmed me so much; I straight up had to take a nap! Whew!

“He is the one who rides on the clouds!” ( I was sitting IN a cloud!)
“His name is the Lord!”
“He announced the Word!”
“He daily bears our burdens!”
“Proclaim the power of God.”
“His power is in the skies.”
“He is awesome, in His sanctuary!”
“He gives power and strength to His people!”

All these wonderful things I learned about the Character of our Lord! Whew! I could’ve just shouted!! As I sat on a rock overlooking the valley later that day, I was just quiet and listened for the Lord. He brought to mind a favorite song of mine, and tears filled my eyes as I sang, looking over the valley of Malawi “Even in the valley, God is good, even in the valley, He is faithful and true, He carries His children through, like He said He would, even in the valley- God is good!”

Now that I’m off the mountain, I am so encouraged and awed by the words of that song. He did carry me through, just like He said He would. And although I was the little nug of the group up and down the mountain, I was the little Nug that could. For no other reason than He promised He would.