One Step at a Time When You Cannot See The Way

What the Camino Taught Me About Climbing Life’s Hills

I woke up that morning with hope sitting fresh in my chest. I was ready to tackle the day, committed to taking it one step at a time. 

The night before had been restorative — our lodging perched on a hill with a sweeping view of the sea and the surrounding countryside, the kind of view that quietly puts things back in perspective. I had needed that. The day before had been hard, the kind of hard I talk about openly on the Mom2Mom Mentoring Podcast  Episode 90: Soul Restoration for Moms Who Are Still Exhausted After Resting; and that morning, something in me felt renewed.

As I laced up my boots, I was actually excited. Our first challenge would be the downhill descent, and I was ready for it. The path before us felt like a gift.

The Camino de Santiago had other plans.

When the Wind Decides It Has Something Against You

Somewhere along what is lovingly called the Yellow Brick Road — which, for the record, does not lead to Oz — I noticed my sunglasses were gone. Lost somewhere back on The Way, and no going back for them.

Almost immediately, the wind picked up.

And not a gentle, scenic-walk kind of wind. The kind that whips dust and debris directly into your eyes, relentlessly, as if it had a personal agenda. Which, that day, it seemed to.

The terrain made it worse. Had we been walking through a village or a wooded stretch, I would have had some protection. But this day — the day after THE DAY — the path led us straight onto an open highway. No shelter. No shade. Just wind, road, and a long walk ahead.

Here’s the support you need to help you navigate the twists, turns, winds, and waves of life: Discover God’s Life-Giving Rhythms a FREE Mini-Guide for the overwhelmed mom. 

The Choice at the Side of the Road

So I made a decision.

I pulled my hat down low, tucked my chin, and asked Craig to walk just ahead of me.

I couldn’t see the path. I couldn’t see the landscape or the horizon or what was coming. All I could see were his feet.

And step by step — one foot, then the next — I followed.

It wasn’t graceful. Cars zoomed past on the highway. The frustration of not being able to see where you’re going is a particular kind of disorienting. But somewhere in the middle of that dusty, wind-battered stretch of road, a passage of scripture settled over me with the kind of quiet weight that only comes when God knows exactly what you need:

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)

And then something unexpected happened.

Because I couldn’t see ahead — because my whole world had narrowed to the few feet in front of me — I stopped dreading the hills.

Oftentimes, I didn’t even know we were ascending until we were already halfway up. I wasn’t bracing for it, wasn’t calculating how steep it looked from the bottom, wasn’t negotiating with myself about whether I could make it. I was just walking. Just following. Just taking the next step.

The inability to see the whole picture turned out to be a gift.

What Craig Did — and What Jesus Does

That’s exactly what Craig did for me on that windy road. He went ahead. He took the wind. He gave me something faithful to follow when I had no sight of my own.

And it’s precisely what Jesus does for us.

We don’t always get the full view. We don’t always see the hill before we’re on it, or know how long the stretch of highway will last, or understand why the path went this direction instead of that one. But He goes ahead. He makes the crooked things straight. He does not forsake.

The gift of guidance isn’t always clarity. Sometimes it’s just a faithful pair of feet to follow.

The Final Climb

Our last hill of the day led to a castle perched high above the sea in Baiona, Spain. Beautiful, yes — but steep and grueling and awe-inspiring in equal measure.

This time, though, something in my posture was different.

I didn’t rush. I didn’t compare my pace to anyone else’s. I didn’t complain about what my legs were feeling. I simply kept going — with a steadier spirit than the day before, with a heart that had already learned something on that dusty highway.

When I reached the top, the reward wasn’t just the view — though the view was extraordinary. It was something quieter. Something internal. A small but real sense of progress in my own heart.

Sometimes the real victory isn’t conquering the hill.

It’s the condition of your heart while you climb.

To hear firsthand Misty’s Step By Step Climb into a new mindset, listen to Mom~2~Mom Mentoring Episode 65: Ascending The Transformative Hills Of Motherhood. 

The Hills You’re Facing Today

Friend, I don’t know what hill is in front of you right now.

Maybe it’s the particular exhaustion of parenting through a hard season. Maybe it’s a marriage carrying more tension than you know what to do with. Maybe it’s a career crossroads, a faith dry spell, a transition that has left you feeling like you’re walking blind on an open highway with the wind against you.

Here’s what the Camino confirmed in me:

You don’t have to see the whole path. You just have to follow the next faithful step.

You are never lost. He will complete what He started in you — and He will not forsake you on the road.

The greatest win isn’t always reaching the top. It’s keeping your heart steady, soft, and surrendered while you climb.

Psalm 121 says it simply and beautifully: “I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”

Your help is secure. Your guide is faithful.

Step by step, you will make it up the hill.

You Don’t Have to Walk This Alone

If you’re on a stretch of road right now where you can barely see the feet in front of you — come find your people.

The Mom2Mom Mentoring Facebook Group is a community of women who are walking their own Caminos — high-achieving, faith-filled moms who are learning to climb with grace, build rhythms that sustain them, and cheer each other on when the hill gets steep. It’s free, it’s real, and there’s always someone a few steps ahead willing to walk just far enough in front to give you something to follow.

👉 Join the Mom2Mom Mentoring Facebook Group. 

What hill are you climbing right now — and what would it look like to follow one faithful step at a time?