Sunday, February 14, 2010

Mountaintop Experiences

I remember back in the late 80's, we lived in Colorado Springs and on weekends we would often take off camping. I mean; load up the car - not the camper - and take off. We would travel up Cheyenne Mountain; up past Cripple Creek to Eleven Mile Canyon. To this day I can't think of a place that is more beautiful. We would put up the tent and just enjoy the surroundings. John would fish for trout (but we ate a lot of hamburger!), I would read, the boys; who were still infants, would be close by playing on a blanket. We go to sleep and wake to snow on our tent, but it would be gone by 10:00 a.m. We see deer, elk and moose. Mountains to the left and right, in front and behind. A spectacular sight. I am smiling now as I recall these memories. I would hate to see Sunday roll around for we'd have to pack it all in and head back down. Life on top of that mountain was wonderful. For those few days we lived life at it's best. We didn't want to leave. We didn't want to have to go back to 'reality'. We wanted to stay ... I loved our mountaintop experience. I remember thinking 'I can reach out and practically touch God from here' and I didn't want to leave.


I so enjoyed our worship time today. Pastor Leah gave the message (Transfiguration Sunday) the scripture was from Luke 9. Jesus went off to a mountain with Peter, James, and John. The three witnessed God speaking and saw the transfiguration of Christ, and was in awe of Him. And I believe it was Peter (oh how I love Peter!) said 'Lord it is good that we are here with you, let us put up three tents, shelters, dwelling places (depending upon your translation). Peter wanted to stay there .... put up dwelling places and park it right there.

I can relate to Peter. He had a mountaintop experience too, and he didn't want to leave. He wanted to pitch tents and just stay put. From the top of the mountains, you can see other mountaintops, you can see grandeur, you can look down into the valleys - but not have to live in the valleys.

I recall a song back in the late 70's - Amy Grant (it was my first Contemporary Christian Album - My Father's Eyes) had a song "Mountain Top".


I love to sing and I love to pray,
Worship the Lord most every day.
I go to the temple, and I just want to stay
To hide from the hustle of the world and its ways.

And I'd
Love to live on a mountain top,
Fellowshipping with the Lord.
I'd love to stand on a mountain top,
'Cause I love to feel my spirit
Soar....

But I've got to come down
>From the mountain top
To the people in the valley below;
They'll never know
That they can go
To the mountain of the Lord.

Now praising the Father is a good thing to do,
To worship the Trinity in spirit and truth.
But if we worshipped all of the time,
Well, there would be no one to lead the blind.

But I'd
Love to live on a mountain top,
Just fellowshipping with the Lord.
And I'd love to stand on a mountain top,
'Cause I love to feel my spirit
Soar.... (Soar....)

But I've got to come down
>From the mountain top
To the people in the valley below;
They'll never know
That they can go
To the mountain of the Lord.

I am not saying that worship is wrong,
But worship is more than just singin' some songs,
'Cause it's all that we say and everything that we do;
It's letting God's Spirit live through you.

Still, I'd
Love to live on a mountain top
Fellowshipping with the Lord.
I'd love to stand on a mountain top,
'Cause I love to feel my spirit
Soar.... (Soar....)


Oh how magnificent those mountaintops can be. We would love to stay. Yet, if we don't come down, God's people will never know. If we don't come down - you can't get to the next mountaintop. Many things have happened since I last visited Cheyenne Mountain and Eleven Mile Canyon. I have been divorced, I have lost a sister to cancer, I have gone through cancer along with a another sister, I lost my personal encourager when Grandma Rose past away, I lost my Dad who was also my friend, I have worried about where the next meal would come from, I have cried as a child drove off to school - not knowing when/if I will see them again.I have experienced many valleys. But each valley led to another mountaintop experience. My divorce allowed me to have greater relationships with my sisters and friends. Sickness and death taught me to love more deeply and to just love more. Going without has taught me to be grateful for what I have and to feed others. Having children has taught me that fears can lead to joys.
We need those valleys, we need to live in those valleys. For it is then that we have no choice but to look up. Remember what I wrote earlier - how when I was on top of Cheyenne Mountain I thought I could reach out and touch God. It was in those valleys that I realized I could still reach out and touch God. I wasn't any closer to Him on that mountain than I was in the depths of the valley. I had grown from my life experiences. Experiences I would not have been able to have if I hadn't trust God enough to live in the valley.

Praise God for the mountaintops ... but also praise Him for the valleys. You want to grow? Trust God and follow Him. More mountaintops await.

1 comment:

  1. Loretta, this is one of the most beautiful blogs I have read. Your church newsletter should print it in the next installment!!

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