My final exams are about to begin, can you believe it? The semester flew by and now four ominous law school exams stand between me and the summer. I have a mountain to climb. But I am not alone. 

My sister is pregnant, can you believe it? She’s entered her third trimester and now is counting down the minutes until her due date. Giving birth to her child stands between her and the summer. She has a mountain to climb. But she is not alone. 

My grandmother is going to be 95, can you believe it? She’s really been struggling to walk lately. An aid urged her the other day to use her walker instead of a wheelchair. My grandmother didn’t think she could do it, but in the end, she did walk. An ominous challenge stood between my grandmother and the summer. She had a mountain to climb. But she was not alone. 

Our world is teeming with hikers along the trails of their own mountains, can you believe it? The teacher struggling with daily anxiety about being in the classroom with students; the grieving person trying to cope with the loss of a spouse; the surgeon heading into their first operation; the small child being dropped off at day-care at a new facility; the old man who is terrified to fly but boards the plane anyway because he has to; the parent who just lost their job and doesn’t know what will come next. . . . 

We are all climbing mountains, every single one of us. We can’t always see it, and we don’t always understand it, but everyone we encounter is struggling to overcome an obstacle between themselves and their futures. And it isn’t our place to judge which mountain stands tallest. A mountain is a mountain. 

Knowing this, let’s strive to help each other in the climb, to ease each other’s burdens, to comfort each other in times of discouragement. 

Remember, some ominous challenge stands between all of us and a better tomorrow. We all have a mountain to climb. But we are not alone. . . .

We have each other. Can you believe it?