The dogs and I have been taking early morning walks up to the foothills near our home. Time is limited before work begins, so the entire trip takes only thirty minutes. Much of the first fifteen minutes, until we reach the foothills, is a perhaps a 25 percent grade, but the very last part has got to be a 45 percent grade. I’m almost pulling the dogs up the last hill. “Come on, we’re almost there,” I say.

The walk back is much easier. “It’s all downhill from here,” I tell the dogs, and that’s literally true on our morning walks. The dogs run in front of me, rather than trailing behind like they do on the way uphill. I am Santa, and I have Dasher, Dancer, and Prancer leading the way. Everything is easier going downhill, but to have a downhill, you have to have an uphill.

When we expect life to be “all downhill from here,” we aren’t being realistic. Change, uncertainty, and obstacles are part of our uphill climb. Sometimes we stop to rest, but we have to keep going. It’s the path. Other times, we enjoy the downhill of ease, flow, and meaning in the context of life, love, and relationships. Why are we so surprised when the path starts uphill again? Just like the seasons, we can count on times of uphill and times of downhill, and knowing that one follows the other can help us make it through.