Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Mountain Sighting



I lift my eyes up to the mountains – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth” – Psalm 121:1

It’s winter here in Kenya, which means that in the central province where I live it’s cold and cloudy and misty most every day. Mt. Kenya, which I can usually see from my front porch, has been covered with clouds for the last 2 months. Lately I’ve found myself forgetting it’s even there anymore. Last week though, while I was sitting on my porch cuddling a hot water bottle and nursing a cup of hot tea to try to stay warm and feeling a little down, just for a moment, the clouds began to slowly part. As I watched them graciously step aside, there, bathed in pink and gold evening light and standing just as strong and majestic as ever, was The Mountain. I quickly called to Ruth to come out and look, and the two of us stood together gazing at that glorious sight, receiving the beautiful gift the Lord was beaming to us and soaking in His love and goodness.Then, all too soon, signaling the end of the most spectacular drama we’d witnessed in months, the cloud curtain fell and all was misty and gray again.

It’s hard to describe what that brief glimpse of the mountain has done for my soul. After so many weeks of dreary, cold, plodding days, the kind where I act out of obedience rather than passion, out of faithfulness rather than fire, where at the end of the day I sometimes forget to take my glasses off before wearily falling into bed and then I wake up a few hours later with their shape imprinted on the side of my face, that brief mountain sighting reminded me that beyond the clouds, through the plodding and misty hardships of this life, there He always is, gloriously loving me and standing strong for me even when I’m tired and don’t see it. 

And the thing is, it was just a glimpse. The clouds did close in and the mountain is once again hidden. But my plodding feels less heavy now. I can step lighter because He has given me just the small bit of encouragement I needed. Even when I can't see past the mist, He is there. He sees my plodding and what it sometimes is costing me even when others don't, and He is faithful and steadfast and true through it all.