The mountains of Beyond truly call out to me and the need to answer is strong within me. Logging roads and thick brush, mossy forrest carpets and the exposed rock amphitheaters of peaks and cirques; the wonderlands we venture into each week hold secrets I’ve never found elsewhere. It is more than the physical beauty they hold though, for the mountains have become a safe place for me. It is a place where I know my worth- a place where I have a role and a purpose. It is a secret place where God meets me in quiet stillness with whispers and strong arms, a place where the confusion of my human emotion is set aside and my natural reliance on Him grows to be the only focus. The noise of city life, of authority and responsibility, of expectation and affirmation fades until the only voices I hear are those of companions in worship, voices ringing out in the night over the clouds.
Yet I cannot remain in the mountains. We are not called to sit atop peaks in simplicity, selfishly soaking in the presence of God we find there. No, there is a city waiting below for stories, for sustenance, for hope. Though there is confusion and sometimes chaos in life at base camp, it is more like home. It is a community, authentic and real in its complications and struggles. It is, to me, a reflection of the messy, messy goodness of life with Christ. Time spent in prayer, hours spent working hard, and nights ending with worship, laughter, and tears. Though I often dream of leaving the valley behind and hiding away forever in God’s wilderness, in my heart I know that God is as present here as He is in the sky, as present in our darkness as He is in our joy. It takes courage to remain in the valley, to remain in our mess rather than run from it. In our mess God is working. He is moving. He is healing. It requires faith to stay and meet Him here. For now I look out into the mountains, a place I know kids are encountering their Creator, and I hold onto the hope they offer, that I will not always be in the valley but for now it is where I need to stay.
Aiden Church
No comments:
Post a Comment