Sunny Side Up July 26, 2006 �2006, Kathleen Gibson Don't back away from your mountains My singing couldn't have drawn the curious doe to me that morning in B.C. She likely wandered over to see who was making such a ruckus in her tranquil forest. There was no path, you see, up the steep hillside near my son's rented mobile home, and it's rather hard to break trail silently. Like many B.C. 'originals', I can seldom resist a good hill. After all, I cut my musical teeth on songs like, 'Climb, climb up sunshine mountain', and 'The Grand old Duke of York, he had ten thousand men; he marched them up to the top of the hill, and marched them down again.' Not to mention 'The bear went over the mountain, the bear went over the �..' (Sure, sing it. I'll wait.) That morning, while the Preacher and Anthony still slept, I'd decided to explore. The hill had beckoned like a magnet since our arrival, days earlier. Now, childhood memories of fragrant pinewoods drew me nearer. From a ways distant, the thickly treed slope looked easily climbable. But within seconds of starting the ascent, my heart pumped furiously. All four limbs grappled for secure holds amidst thickly spread pine cones and a layer of loose surface rock - treacherous underfoot. I've lived long in the prairies - my mountain legs have devolved somewhat. Thoughts come fast, clambering up a mountainside. And never are the parallels between the uphill climbs of life and the steep of the mountainside more apparent than when your legs wobble under you like cooked spaghetti, and your breath draws as shallow as rain on a new leaf. Puffing up that hillside, I reflected that the God who made it, who sees the best way to the top, similarly knows the way through the steeps of life down on the level - and which sure things to grab for stability. Not dead wood - only rooted, growing trees make reliable supports. Before I reached the top, I prayed about that hard stuff. Yes, aloud. Near the top, my prayers changed to praise. Finally at the summit, Lake Windermere glistening below, I joined the songbirds sweetening the air around me. "Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth�" The doe appeared around twenty feet away. I noticed her ears first, erect, facing me. Still as a garden ornament, she listened - for a full five minutes. When reluctantly I walked away, she followed, then disappeared as silently as she'd come. Those moments of exquisite worship in God's cathedral of nature transformed my day. Hills and mountaintops regularly host transformative events. Up there� Moses met God and received the Ten Commandments; Noah began civilization anew - on dry land; Abraham proved God faithful; Jesus faced Satan's worst, preached the best sermon the world has ever heard, won victory on the cross; the disciples observed the Transfiguration. Your mountains, your life's steeps, are tremendously significant. Grab sturdy faith. Pray and praise as you go. And keep climbing - God keeps his best surprises at the top. Respond Home |
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