As a Florida girl, Andrea Herzer wasn’t accustomed to driving in severe winter weather. But when a trip required her to do so—on a winding mountain no less—she dialed up her focus and made the trek. When Herzer reached her destination, the surrounding landscape was a stunning reward.
Herzer calls that story to mind when another intense journey seems like too much to handle. A series of health crises have significantly altered her life. Herzer suffers not only from physical pain but from the mental and emotional grief of missing out on moments with her family and friends. She has to be selective when it comes to exerting energy, which his has reframed her perspective on mundane tasks, rendering them causes for celebration.
“I have learned that the activities most worth suffering for are the ones that enrich and bless others,” Herzer writes. “The particular people I have a burden to bless are those who are traveling up the same road but are broken down by its side and unable to go on. ‘Keep going,’ I want to tell them, ‘because the view from here is glorious.’”
Amidst her own suffering, Herzer aims to comfort others in theirs. As we shoulder our own burdens, may we look for those who are weighed down as well, reminding one another that there are still glorious views to be found.
