One July 4th weekend during my 13th year, my family of 9 took an overnight hike to a place called Hidden Lake. It was the first time I had done a hike like this let alone the fact that I was also going to be carrying a backpack with my provisions for sleeping and eating.
The morning started out well. We had spent the night in our little trailer in the parking lot of the trail head. It was a lovely morning and as we started down the trail, the meadow smelled fresh and lovely. The only immediate down-side was the thrash of mosquitoes following us.
The flat trail very soon turned uphill. It overwhelmed my body. I was not accustomed to this type of physical exertion. I was not accustomed to the freshly hatched swarms of mosquitoes that landed on me every time I tried to catch my breath. My pack felt so heavy, my muscles were tired, I felt hopeless that we would ever arrive at our destination.
At one point, my two older brothers asked for and were given permission to forge ahead of us to the lake. I guess we were traveling too slow for them. I was embarrassed and a little peeved that my younger siblings weren't struggeling like me. They headed off with the older brothers. Along the trail I trudged, begrudgingly. Wishing I had never agreed to this. My older sister tried to distract me with singing. I couldn't sing! I could hardly breath! There was no getting a smile out of me because I presently hated life. I was utterly miserable.
After some time, voices caught my attention as I realized my brothers had returned with big smiles and empty backs. They had found our destination. My brother, Eric, stopped in front of me and asked if he could take my backpack. As he lifted it off of my shoulders, I restrained a sob. I was so grateful!
We continued on our journey, much relieved and my mood much improved. As I walked, overwhelmed at the kindness of my older brother, I related his actions to what Jesus Christ does with sin: An elder brother relieving us of the burden.
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