I'M a dedicated mountain hiker, one who enjoys the peaks above the tree line. The view from there is boundless, a "reach out and touch the face of God" kind of experience. To reach the summit of these peaks frequently takes considerable effort. A step-by-step, steady, unrelenting pace seems to be the best for me. Sometimes it's simply one foot barely ahead of the other; other times, I can take a full stride and maintain that pace.
Recently while trying to summit a particularly demanding peak, I began to put what I was doing into a spiritual context. I prayed to understand that stamina, endurance, and perseverance are not actually related to muscles or to personal determination but are in fact derived from God and give evidence of the spiritual strength possessed by God's creation.
In this light it helped me to think of stamina as staying power. I was exhausted and felt unable to complete the climb. But I began to see that I could draw deeply on my spiritual resources for strength. These resources were spiritual truths from God, who is infinite Mind. These truths constantly reassure me that I am an unrestricted idea that God has created. I am always supported and sustained by my Father-Mother God. Science and Health says, "The spiritual demand, quelling the material, supplies energy and endurance surpassing all other aids, and forestalls the penalty which our beliefs would attach to our best deeds." Science and Health, p. 385.
