“MEMORIES MADE IN THE MOUNTAINS STAY IN OUR HEARTS FOREVER!”

A MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH

by Debbie Allen

“We have to embrace the conflict God has put into our story. Oftentimes, the scenes that we want to skip produces the endings we all love to see.” –Toby Mac–

When I first pondered these words penned by Christian singer, Toby Mac; I’d just faced an unwanted, and very unexpected eye surgery. A major surgery which ended with my doctor injecting a gas bubble inside my right eye to help stabilize the eye from the inside out, while it healed. For the next two and a half months, I peered at my world through a murky brown bubble.  In addition, my doctor also issued a very stern warning to ‘not change altitudes at all; or I risked the possibility of the bubble expanding…exploding…and taking my eye along with it!’ Believe me… that warning was more than enough to scare me into strict compliance!

When God ushered this unwanted conflict into my life, I have to confess, ‘embracing it’ was not even listed on my post-surgery to-do list. Especially when I considered the level of acceptance the word ‘embrace’ was truly asking of me.  Webster’s 1928 Dictionary defines the word, ‘embrace’ this way:

“To seize eagerly; to lay hold on; to receive or take with willingness that which is offered.”

As a frail human being, none of these words describes what was going on in my heart when God placed this mountain before me; but as a child of God, I knew not to focus on the size of the conflict I faced…but to dwell instead on the size of my God, and His ability to strengthen and uphold me as I learned to climb mountains I never planned on ever climbing… with Strength I never knew I had in me!

 Perhaps ‘embracing conflict’ describes, for a child of God, the simple act of putting on our God-Sized thinking; and letting God be God!

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  ‘Embracing conflict’ describes for a child of God, the simple act of putting on our God-Sized thinking; and letting God be God!

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By the time that infamous bubble in my eye shrank down to nothing, and my restrictions to travel were lifted; my husband and I were more than eager to get out of town and see some new scenery. Pagosa Springs has always been one of our most favorite fall getaways… so we packed up our things and headed straight for it! Six hours later, we were standing in the midst of the beauty of a city whose name actually means, healing waters.  What a perfect way to end a season of healing in my own life!

I was thankful to have the ‘medical mountain’ I’d just finished climbing behind me now. My heart was awed by the early morning beauty of the mountains surrounding me in Pagosa Springs that first morning. Looking out on those steadfast and immoveable creations; I heard God’s still, small Whispers inside of me…reminding my own heart of His Presence there in the midst of them.  “My Mountains…” I heard Him speak.

Smiling at the thought of it, I whispered back to Him, “Yes, Lord…these truly are Your mountains; beautiful in every way.”

Then, almost as if He illuminated my own thoughts and words concerning His mountains; something else occurred to me.  It’s so much easier to physically stand before God’s Mountains in creation and thank Him for their beauty; than it is to be grateful in our spirits for the seemingly immoveable mountains He places in front of us throughout our lives. Humanly speaking, our first response to spiritual mountains set before us, is to look-away or want to run-away; anticipating only the pain and difficulty that always accompanies them.  Much like the ominous clouds I saw shrouding the mountaintops of Pagosa, our own vision too, can become clouded; preventing the eyes of our hearts from being able to see the hidden beauty that awaits us on the mountaintops we’re laboring so hard to reach. The same kind of beauty that I’m so quick to thank Him for in the physical realm…and yet so reluctant to show Him gratitude for in the spiritual realm.

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“Sometimes God wraps His Glory in hard circumstances, or obstacles, or painful difficulties, and it just never occurs to us that within those life-shaking events is a blessing in disguise.”

–Anne Graham Lotz—

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The rugged and indescribable beauty of Pagosa’s Peaks undoubtedly, stood before me as God’s silent reflections of His Splendor, Magnificence and Wisdom; but they also pointed my heart towards the unseen treasures that await us… when we learn to embrace the conflict/mountains God has written into each of our stories.  Like those mountains…God’s Love for His children is Steadfast and Enduring. They stand as Visible reminders of God’s Faithfulness, and His willingness to give us His Strength in those moments when we feel more like spineless worms inching our way up an endless mountain. Even in those moments when we feel like we’re failing Him…He will never fail us. Time and time again, He’s taught my heart that the climb itself will come to an end one day…but the story of the climb lives on forever; touching, inspiring, and changing the hearts of all those who hear about it! The story of your mountain and the way you embraced it…may just be the inspiration someone else needs to hear, in order to make it up their own mountain in life!

I believe with all my heart that God’s Mountains stand in all their majesty, as heaven’s own earthly reflections of Who God is before us…and who we are not.  You and I are nothing like mountains.  We are fragile, lowly, weak human beings, planted here on earth for only a short time. Frail describes us well. We are here today, then withered or gone tomorrow. God is an Immovable, Solid Rock. He is Eternal, Ever-Present, Powerful, High and Lifted-Up!

When you consider the majesty of those physical mountains surrounding Pagosa Springs, alongside the spiritual mountains God places before us in life—it’s vital to remember that every mountain is set before us by God’s design, and for His Purposes. Beyond the sheer wonder and beauty of them all…they stand before us as His Mountains of Truth; every one of them reflecting the beautiful reality of our Creator God, standing before us, reminding our hearts that His Constant Faithfulness and Steadfast Love for us, will always be Bigger than any mountain we will ever encounter in our life.  And for that our hearts should be forever grateful!

When my husband and I left Pagosa Springs three days later, my journal was 10 pages deeper than the day we arrived.  All of the thoughts written on those pages, flowed from the two original words I heard God Whisper down into to my heart on that first morning, “My Mountains.”

 Though I couldn’t imagine there could be anything more left to say about ‘His Mountains,’ God drew my full attention to them once more.  Rounding the last curve before exiting the city of Pagosa Springs, my eyes were drawn to a particular mountain. It wasn’t high and lifted-up like the lush green mountains surrounding it. It wasn’t even beautiful.  Unimpressed, I labeled it barren. But if it hadn’t been barren…I never would’ve been able to spot what God so clearly had waiting there for me to see. It was the shadow of a Giant Hand holding fast to that barren mountain! Oddly enough, the Hand was a Right Hand, as well. The verse that flooded my mind as I looked with awe at that Giant Hand was this:

“Do not yield to fear, for I am always near. Never turn your gaze from Me, for I am your Faithful God. I will infuse you with My Strength and help you in every situation. I will hold you firmly with My Victorious Right Hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Having almost just turned my eyes away from that grey mountain because it was so barren; these words spoke deeply and so, so personally to my heart. I recognized that Giant Hand to be God’s Hand! His tangible and very visible reminder that even when the mountains we face in life appear so barren…when we choose to ‘embrace’ even the barren scenes God’s writing into our life, seeing them through eyes of faith; His Promised Presence, Strength, and Victorious Right Hand will be found right there in the midst of it!

Truly, this was an undeniable Mountain of Truth set before me! Such Powerful Words from God’s Own Heart to mine, spoken alongside an even more Powerful Image on a remote mountainside in Pagosa Springs. Only my God could’ve planned out this modern-day miracle so perfectly!  And I am still rendered speechless when I think about it…except to express my own High Praises to the Lord in this season of Thanksgiving, singing out with a grateful heart to Him, along with the psalmist:

“Your Power and Goodness, Lord, reach to the highest heavens. You have done such wonderful things.”

(Psalm 71:19a)

“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.”

(Psalm 9:1)

HEART TRAPPINGS PRAYER:

Dearest Heavenly Father…As we step into another Season of Thanksgiving, may our hearts be filled with thoughts of Your Beauty and Grace…the Countless Blessings and the Constant Love that You so richly bestow on us every day; just because You Love us. Help us to broaden and beautify our dim, human perspectives when it comes to seeing Your Hand faithfully at work in the midst of every mountain we stand before in our life; both physically and spiritually. Teach our frail hearts how to embrace the conflict You write into our stories, knowing that sometimes You are in the process of turning our barren places into the unforeseen miracles that deepen our hearts to Your Love for the rest of our lives! We love You, Lord.

In Jesus Name…Amen