12/30/24-Find Your Hill

Everyone dies.  The battle of with earthly death is one none of us can win.  Over our life we should find our personal hill.  We need to find a purpose for our lives so we don't die without reason.

There are a number of hills out there for us to climb and take a stand for.  Maybe over our lives those hills may change.  I know my personal hill has adjusted over the course of my life.

At one point my reason for life might have been personal achievement.  I know when I was young I wanted to achieve athletic or academic success.  That hill was personal, so I guess it wasn't a very big hill.

Later my reason was to represent my country.  I thought I joined the Navy because I needed a direction in life since I had failed in college and was going nowhere. But I really joined the Navy because I felt that that the USA, while it has faults, is still the greatest nation in the history of the world.  It was a pleasure to represent it and defend it.  I would have died for it.

When Cindy and I started having kids a new hill developed.  My reason for life was to provide for and pass on my knowledge to my family.  Decisions I made were made to make sure my kids had the best opportunities.  Some of those choices were made for financial reasons, others were for social growth.  But whatever I did was for Cindy and the kids.

As time has passed and my family has been firmly established my purpose has again evolved.  Now my personal hill, the one I plan to die on, is my faith in Jesus.  The best part of this hill is that it is not a hill I am on by myself.  This hill has been around for nearly 2000 years.  I am joining many others on this hill.  A lot of people have died as martyrs on this hill.  I don't know what my job is on this hill, but I'm working on finding my purpose through prayer.

So here is my advice for today.  As we get ready for 2025 find your hill, your purpose.  Maybe you are at a stage in your life where your hill is a personal one.  Maybe it is a social one like your family or friends.  Maybe it is a hill that has already there that you are joining, like my hill with my faith.  Whatever it is, the most important thing is to find your hill, and do everything you can on that hill.  Try to change that hill to a strong mountain.  Someday we will all be gone from this Earth.  People's memory of us will fade.  But our hill can remain long after we are gone as part of our legacy, we just need to make it as robust and indestructible as a hill can be.