Keep climbing up the ladder

Greetings:
Our Christian walk can be compared to a stroll up a steep staircase.
Each step is a challenge. These challenges are learning moments designed to increase our faith, show to us God's mercy and loving grace.
The staircase is like the eight Beatitudes described in Matthew 5:1-12 because they are all aspects of being in close communion with God.
There is a pattern and a progression here. Each step leads to the next. Remove any one of steps, and we fall or we are stopped. It is a carefully built staircase. The steps are not in a random order. To reach the second step, we need to make it past the first step.
We are directed to keep climbing, even when it seems it takes every ounce of our strength to keep going up. It's difficult to put one foot in front of the other on some days.
We just keep walking, keep climbing, keep trusting in his guidance which whispers in our spirit.
Sometimes we wonder if we will ever make it to the top. Our muscles and bones ache. Our heart pounds with fatigue. We pray for another route to make the climb easier, but there is none.
We must consciously make a choice to go to the next step, and God is not in a hurry. He waits patiently, lovingly and relentlessly for us to catch our breath and relax along the way.
At these times of rest, we know that by looking down, we see and comprehend what we have overcome just to get to this place. But if we look up at the number of stairs still left to climb, it seems daunting and almost overwhelming.
God showed me that we cannot look at only the stairs. We need to fix our eyes on what we cannot see. It's by faith that we walk. Going back down is not an option. We've been set free.
At times we want to stop and sit right where we are at. We just hang out for a while in one place. That's a time of rest. But we shouldn't get too content and we must continue upward and overcome the temptation to stop.
So we pray for a steady pace, understanding each level. We make a conscious decision to move up and onward as we climb the stairs on this particular day.
Be blessed.