It's all about the climb

I think it's wise to climb a tree every chance you get.

Even if your neighbor tells you not to.

I remember when I was a little girl I climbed my neighbor's tree, and my sister told me I needed to get down. I asked her if our dad had told her that, and she didn't even get a chance to answer me. Instead, my neighbor had walked out of her house and cut in with, "No, but I say you need to get out of that tree now."

Even though I replied with a "Yes, ma'am," I didn't really mean it. I had something else I would have preferred to say. (Kidding, of course.) So I got down from the tree and continued on to other adventures in the Park Meadow neighborhood.

I enjoy climbing trees because of the mini-escapades they add to life. There are so many different types of trees in this world, and no two provide the exact same climbing routes. Your footing will change for each tree you scale, and you will have a variety of views, allowing you to expand on the perspectives you have on the landscapes before you.

The view is nice from a tree.

But one of the more challenging aspects of tree climbing is the decent. Even though you might want to jump to the ground from whatever limb you made your perch, you could actually be too high for a safe landing. That's when you systematically must develop a way to make your way safely back to earth without earning yourself any broken bones in the process.

I found myself in such a predicament yesterday.

I ran a half marathon, and I was a bit tired on the walk back to the car, but I wasn't too fatigued to climb a tree. There was a superb one that just stood out to me and was begging for me to ascend to one of its branches. Before I let my mind have a second thought, I was making my way up the tree as my parents watched. I think they've gotten to the point where they don't really question it anymore—they just let me climb. When I was ready to get back down, however, I realized it would be easier to jump, but the jump was higher than I wanted—and probably higher than my legs could take at the time. Thankfully, my dad was there, and he told me just to slide off the branch, and he would catch me. That made my life so much easier and less painful.

Life is full of trees—weeping willows, tall oaks, forbidden neighbors' trees, ones that your mom claims are "diseased" and should be avoided, ones that let you hide from your mom at softball practice, and so many more that will allow for opportunities galore. The important thing to remember is take a chance every once in a while and climb a difficult tree. Because, even if you get stuck, you're always going to have a Father there who will reach up His hand to help you down.

Plus, climbing trees helps you stay young at heart—and I think we all need a little bit more of that in our lives.