1 January 2018
A new day. A new year. A new start.
My family and I are enjoying the most wonderful holiday in Cape Town and decided to climb Lion’s Head on the most beautiful first day of 2018.
Due to my extended hospital stay prior to and for the 6 weeks following my daughters birth by emergency Caesar and then my emergency heart surgery, my fitness and muscle tone dropped to an almost zero level and it has taken me 7 years to attempt to regain and increase my fitness levels. One marked effect of about 65 days in bed in hospital during 2010 has been that I get intense cramping in my calf muscles when I walk for distances longer than about 10 minutes. It is rather painful and I find it quite uncomfortable to continue walking. The other definite effect the mini-strokes have left me with is a constant sense of dizziness and a regular feeling of vertigo. So with these 2 rather debilitating effects on me at the forefront of my mind, we set off to climb Lions Head.
It was a very steep initial incline and before we had reached 10 minutes of walking my calf muscles had developed intense pain and I needed to stop every few meters to take a break and catch my breath.
I persevered and as we started to climb the more rocky parts of the path my cramping eased and I thoroughly enjoyed the last part of our ascent.
Lions head has two kind of “tops”. After following a fairly narrow path and ascending some fairly steep little inclines, we reached the first “top” and sat down for a break. That steep little incline section was so tight and small that it made me feel so dizzy and rather chlostrophobic. As I peered up and saw the rest of the way we had to climb to get to the second top, I was overcome with fear and anxiety and felt that I may be too dizzy and light headed to climb the rest of the way up.
Well with the encouragement of my husband and daughter I climbed the rest of the way up and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular view of the Cape Town coastline as well as Table Mountain from the very top of Lions Head.
I persevered. I endured. I overcame. I felt good and I felt encouraged that no matter what challenges I face this year, they can be conquered. The ones that love me are the ones right beside me and when I reach the mountain tops this year, I can enjoy the spectacular views and take a break from all the hard work I have put into getting there. God, may you be glorified in every challenge I endure, may I love and nurture my loved ones dearly and may your glory be revealed in me and through me.
hope of heart 