I was climbing a mountain at Port Stephens, Hawkes Nest a couple of weeks ago after Christmas 2019,something I have done before. The last section of the climb was quite steep and I was out of breath. The minister had preached at the Christmas Service that the cross of Christ was the tree of life. About 50 metres from the ytop of the mi=ountain climb there was a tree, maybe 50-60 years old, I had stopped every 20 feet to recatch my breath and this tree was there leaning straight up by the side of the track. I took a minute or five and leant back against this tree and I felt the life of the tree come into my body and it gave me strength enough to finish the climb. At the top of the mountain was a sign Captain J.E. Fitzpatrick (Jack) which reminded me of a Billy Joel song Captain Jack will take you high tonight, take you to another island.

There was two other islands going off into the near distance and I could also see across to Fngal Bay with another island and a sand bank going out to the island, with a bit smaller mountain but wider and had a light house on the other side of it. My next challenge. Somethings you can do in life that are almost instanaeous, other things take a bit longer, some take a lifetime to accomplish. This mountain like the one on the other side of Port Stephens at Shoal Bay which I could look across and see was a bit like looking at Hamilton Island in The Whitsundays. I have done that mountain a couple of times and it was just about as difficult as the north head one. But this one took the cake, I will never get over it again, I will climb it again, but not right straight away. Some times when you fall off your horse the best thing to do is to get straight back on it and don't let it beat you. I also did the three kilometre walk back along the beach at Hawkes Nest which at the foot of the mountain and in the water along the bach right next to it was a bad sewerage spill, which it appears no one new how to clean up, a real fowl smell.

So against the odds and also my shoes fell apart on the way up the mountain and I thought I would not make it back, I cracked this mountain and I can add that one to my set of accomplisments in life. Just as I left leaning against the tree, I thought I was taking my last breath and I gave it all I had and took the biggestv breath that I have ever taken in my life and puffed right over that hill.The trip back to catch the bus home was apparantly easy compared to the hike up. So when you try to put things right back like two thousand years since Christ Died on the cross and my five minutes leaning against the tree that I had remebmbered from the Christmas sermon, that tree was my tree of life. Life is indeed a long journey and my walk took about five hours but was about 15 years between doing this climb twice

I don't remember how hard it was last time but I think it was something similar. Just because things look dim, never give up hope in God, he will rescue you right at the right time you need it, when you are desparate for breath, that is when God is at His strongest and he fills you will the life giving knowledge of all that you have ever done. Prodestants don't put Christ abck on the cross again, the Catholics do. Prodestants believe that Christ reigns from heaven at the right hand side of God. That tree which is life today is a representation of the cross of Christ's sacrfical offering of His life for us and just at that time he puts it right back into you and showers blessings upon you when you most need it. Don't fret and want for things you don't really need, what you need is the love of god and the life of Christ, Follow His way and he will put you right back where you belong. God Bless.