The View from the Mountain

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"—Isaiah 52:7

This summer was my first time at Camp Craig Springs. We hiked with a group of our youth up the Potts Mountain Trail (a hike that would have been easier if I hadn't tried playing Sharks and Minnows with the Junior High group a few days before). At the top of the trail, a wooden cross among painted rocks marks an overlook over the surrounding hills and valleys. We paused there awhile, eating much-appreciated sandwiches and taking in the view.

It's common to hear the term "mountaintop experience" used as a stand-in for the ecstatic highs, sudden epiphanies, or unexpected moments of serenity. But on top of Potts, I was struck by a different sense of the term: that being on the mountain meant I could see, with some distance and clarity, the surrounding peaks, slopes, and valleys.

Writing this reflection, it's impossible to know what situation you are in as you read it. Are you feeling high, or low? Peak, valley, or a slope somewhere in between? What about our life together as a congregation? With so much uncertainty in the world surrounding us, what encouragement might we need to hear?

Sometimes, it's not the emotional or spiritual high that we need; rather, it's the perspective of being able to see the whole landscape. From the overlook, we can see how far we've come, how hard the climb has been, how vast the scope of God's creation really is. God is at work in this world. Sometimes, that work is going on more slowly, or quietly, or is spread out over more vast distances, than we can imagine mid-climb. So we pause together, in gratitude and amazement, to see, just for a moment, what God might have us see.

Grace and Peace,

David

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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