at the beginning of the week, we began the long trek home. my heart already sad knowing that i would be saying a goodbye of sorts to the mountains that i had fallen so deeply in love with. mountains that Jesus had used to teach and heal and reveal.
i'll never look at them in the same light again...
i have found myself standing in front of a situation that has been so full of pain and confusion that it has almost become indistinct in it's enormity. ever been there? sometimes it seems like i cross one range to find myself bent over, unable to comprehend where i'll find the strength to cross the next one.
but as He has reminded me over and over again this past summer, i'm to lift my eyes. unto the mountains. because my Help is there...
to find that the indistinct and the blurred edges begin to take shape and i can begin to see...something of His hand in the middle of my so-called mess.
as we rounded the bend on a long montana road, the face of the "sleeping giant" popped out against the fading sun...
out of the hardened circumstances that threaten to overwhelm me with their never-ending waves comes a moment of beauty that is so obviously formed by His Hand that i am reminded that in His complete knowledge of my situation, He longs to develop hope, truth and faithfulness in me.
so as i said goodbye to the mountains that shaped and enveloped my summer, i greeted more than the faithful prairies; i opened my heart to a newfound hope in my Savior.
"consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." james 1:2-5
"he who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. i will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in Whom i trust." psalms 91:1
