From the Mountaintop

 

During my life, I have spent more than my fair share of time in the valley. Fortunately, I have also spent some awesome times at the peaks as well as some a lot of climbing times either up or down.

The valley can be so dark. There are shadows at every turn. While there can be safety and shelter from the storms and heat of the day, there is also a very limited view. There is only so far that you can go before you hit a barrier or you aren’t able to see where you are going because the mountains are on either side of you. You can also be trapped in a valley for anyone who would want to attack from the top.

When you’re going through really rough times or trying to sort through those rough times to come to terms with them, it’s hard to see past all the pain and confusion. It is so important to work through the pain in life and come out on the other side having learned from the experience and, hopefully, come out better for it.

The thing is, if you stay in the valleys all the time, not wanting to climb out because it is what you know, you get very comfortable. Life can be ok in the valley. If you stay where you’re comfortable and with what you know, you can still make a difference in the world and you can have a good life. God may even tell you to spend some time in the valley. But, what if you started a trip up the mountains, maybe even just for a vacation? What if you decided to see what was on the other side? You may not even decide to go down the other side, but what could you possibly see that could change your direction and even bring joy to you and others?

When I have made it to the tops of hills, dunes and even mountains, the views are usually breathtaking. From the top, you can see amazing sunrises and sunsets, whole landscapes of scenery and even places you’d like to visit or an adventure you’d like to take. Dreams can begin or come true at the top of the mountain. While we can’t always live on the mountaintop, we all do reach it many times in our lives. You feel a sense of freedom, hope and achievement at the top. It’s like the whole world is at your feet and the opportunities are endless.

However, we mostly live in the trips up and down the mountain. This is where we work towards achieving our goals, raise our children, focus on our careers, build our homes, start a ministry and so on. There’s a lot of work involved in coming up and down the mountain. You run into a lot of obstacles, experience so many new sights and sounds as well as make camp and live during the journey.

Beauty and purpose can be found in all of the areas of the journey. Even the hard times can bring such beauty. At this point, I hope to show all these aspects to anyone who has gotten stuck in the valley and wants to reach the mountaintop. I also want to help others realize they can discover their dream and the purpose(s) for which they’ve been put on this earth. I am on this journey now and chronicling the positives and negatives that take me closer to where He wants me. I hope to pass along the lessons learned along the way so, maybe, it will be easier for others along their journey.