Coming Up: The Rough Side of the Mountain

“I’ve never actually set foot at the base of a mountain with the intent to climb it; nevertheless, I’ve been climbing mountains all my life.”         ~Angelique A. Strothers

 I think oftentimes, as believers, we view our spiritual journey in black and white: “Either I’m on the mountaintop or I’m in a valley.” But, the fact is that there is so much more to the story. Our lives are not black and white with shades of gray somewhere between; but much like the picture above, God has created us to live out a life full of color and beauty. We get so caught up focusing on the mountaintop and the valley experiences that we define our life’s seasons by those two geological positions and those alone. I’ll admit I’ve been guilty of the same! But thank God He doesn’t leave me in the ignorance of my finite understanding.

The geological definition of a valley is an elongated depression in the earth’s surface (Britannica Online Encyclopedia); but I like the way that Wikipedia phrases it: ” In geology, a valley or dale is a depression that is longer than it is wide.” Now, ain’t THAT the truth! Isn’t that what it feels like when we’re in those “valleys”? It feels so restrictive (“I can’t,” “Not me,” “Why me”) and like it’ll NEVER end! And somehow, we never see the mountains so clearly as when we’re in a valley stuck between the “mountain” we were on and the “mountain” we want to be on. We immediately view the valleys (low places) as bad and the mountains (high places) as good. But, the truth is…… well, that’s just NOT TRUE! 🙂 You see, valleys CAN BE well-vegetated, fertile areas with constant water supply and beauty all around. And mountaintops CAN BE cold, lonely places with room for only one at the top. But because we’re so conditioned to be unsatisfied with where we are in favor of what “could be” or even “will be” at a later time, we miss out on the beauty of the valley, the solitude of the mountaintop and the purpose of both.

So, that’s one issue I have with this black & white view of life and spiritual journey. But, you see, it also occurs to me that there has to be something between the mountain and the valley or else there would be neither mountains nor valleys. We get so caught up in the “despair” of our current reality (valley), the “majesty” of our preferred reality (mountaintop) and the disparity between the two that we miss out on the journey from one to the other. That is to say, there has to be a way to get from the valley to the mountaintop; we don’t just wake up one day and say, “Oh, hey look, I’m magically on top of my mountain! Goodbye valley!” No, there is PROCESS that happens somewhere between the two and that process is called MOUNTAINSIDE. And here’s where the black & white theory gets completely blown to smithereens! Because, we want our experiences to always look like the picture above: a mountaintop view of another mountaintop with nothing but color and beauty all around; but oftentimes leaving those valleys behind looks more like this:

Steep, hilly, jagged, unappealing and oh, by the way, where exactly am I supposed to firmly plant my feet in all this mess?! But, THIS is the reality of the “land between” more often than not. What we do is, we get on the mountainside and realize that it’s harder than the valley was and we romanticize the valley behind us and idolize the mountaintop ahead; then we end up either 1) Going back to the valley, 2) Stalling out and just staying on the mountainside longer than God intended OR 3) Keep climbing to the mountaintop idolizing that beautiful view from the top, all the while griping and complaining about how hard it is! Go ahead, ask me how I know……. LOL! But, God is SO gracious and forgiving that he tolerates my whining and somehow manages to grow me in the mountainside process so that by the time I get to the next mountainside- when I would normally moan and groan- I find myself rejoicing and thanking Him! I know, it’s so unnatural right? But, it’s because I JUST realized that I serve the God who can give me a mountaintop perspective from the mountainside and the valley too!!! So, I will continue to learn to appreciate my “valleys” for what they bring, cherish my mountaintops for what they teach and love my mountainsides because that’s where I am strengthened for the journey I’m on and the journey ahead. And I’m ALWAYS reminded that God has a plan and in ALL things He is working His plan in me and thru me!

Bless God & God Bless,

THE Writer’s Pen, Angel

“The Mountaintop View from the Valley”

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