Sarah Field on Beyond

My entire life I have focused on what I could accomplish and where I would. When I followed God's call to join Young Life staff four years ago, I never could have imagined all the ways God would humble me, and all the things that He would teach me. On Young Life staff I can't measure success the same way as I could in school, and in sports. Too often I find myself focusing so much on the destination that I would forget to look around and embrace the journey. More often than not the destination ends up being a fruitless distraction while God uses the journey itself to lead us towards growth.

Two summer's ago I had the privilege of taking a group of girls on what would be the journey of a lifetime. I had been dreaming up the idea of taking a girls group to Beyond Malibu. I spent countless hours planning, convincing girls to go, and more importantly convincing parents that hiking a mountain would be an incredible experience for their daughters. This took about nine months. Within that time I had many painful experiences, and some parents proved more difficult to convince than others. One mom even went ahead and planned their European vacation during the week I had reserved, just because she believed her daughter could never do it. Many people were skeptical of these girls making it. When we arrived at base camp and the girls unloaded roller suitcases and pink carry-ons we got some funny looks, and I know people at base camp were questioning how the next week would go. I could hardly blame them.

But we went. On that mountain we experienced God's love and mercy in new and profound ways. One of the things I love most about the outdoors is that there are no social cliques or "chosen" lunch tables to sit at. I watched as girls who never felt like they fit in at school became leaders on the mountain. Lauren spent much of her time at high school feeling alone. She would come to campaigners to feel like she had a place where she belonged. On our Beyond trip, she went from being a loner to a leader within the group. Day 2 proved to be the most difficult, it was a day that we will never forget and many wondered how we would even make it through. I watched as God used Lauren to become the strength for her struggling friends that day. Her constant encouragement had an impact on each one of us, and it was Lauren that became a pillar of strength for our group.

We climbed Frankenstein and when we finally reached the summit we quickly realized it wasn't about making it to the top. As beautiful as the view was and as awesome of an accomplishment, the real accomplishment was coming together, overcoming fears, and learning to believe in ourselves. Beyond wasn't about making it to the top. It was about a group of girls from all different walks coming together to experience God's creation and His glory and gaining a new sense of self. Beyond was about the conversations we had along the trail despite wanting to just sit down and quit. Our Beyond was something we will never forget. It was an experience that forever changed who we are. If I had waited until people thought these girls were ready to hike a mountain we never would have gone. If I had let the challenges along the way stand in our way of going I would never have seen God work the way He did. People often tell me that they want to go on a Beyond trip, but this just isn't the year. My response, "if not now, then when?" Now the ongoing slogan for Beyond at school is, if those girls can do it, we can do it! They are right. Every one can go Beyond. Just don't wait for the perfect time; there is no perfect time. Today is the day!!