Mountains, Valleys, and Plateaus, Oh My!!

Psalm 95:1-5 – Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God And the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land.

Last week I talked about comfort zones and how growth happens outside of that. As mentioned previously, I am an ad

venture enthusiast. I love exploring and being in nature. It teaches us so many things, but we must incline our hearts and ears to what it is showing and speaking to us. I love hiking for the simple fact that it allows me to disconnect only to become fully connected into the present. In a world where we are so connected via social media and have instant answers and attention at our fingertips, we are more disconnected than ever from the present moment. The world is loud and distracts us from hearing God’s voice. Nature has a way of speaking prese

nce into our life…it screams of God’s glory because it was created to love and obey God without choice. My senses heighten to the sounds and sights of nature and its Creator. I’m also outside of my normal—my comfort zone—which allows me to tune in more. It forces us to pay attention when we are not in the comfort of our own home or spaces where we spend most of our time.

This past summer I finished hiking one of the most difficult sections of the Appalachian trail—the White Mountains of New Hampshire. While the elevation is only in the 5k-6k range, the White Mountains get their names from their stark appearance that is due to the granite boulder make-up of the mountains. They often are laced with snow and are known for the worst weather in America. Mount Washington, the highest point on the range holds the record for the fastest recorded wind gust of 231 miles per hour.

Here are the lessons the White Mountains taught me. Nature is to be respected, revered, and relished in. The best views are undoubtedly the hardest climb. The White Mountains have a reputation for some of the steepest and most rigorous climbs—scaling 90 degree mountain faces at times. The sharpest peaks are often the highest which means they have the best views. While the views are the best looking down, the mountain tops and peaks are often bare and covered in rocks leaving little room for vegetation or wildlife. One spends a great deal of time in the alpine zone in the White Mountains which simply means the trees do not grow higher than 4 feet due to the elements of weather that they face that high up. When one breaches out of the alpine zone, they are greeted with granite piles of rocks, dense fog, and high winds. There is a certain quietness, eeriness, and reverence that is experienced in this zone. Looking down, one feels like a conqueror; looking around, one feels very alone. There is a certain strength you feel when conquering a mountain. It’s remembering where you came from. In life, we don’t realize how often we are climbing. A quote that has always stuck with me is that, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”—Soren Kierkegaard

One mental tactic that I use to climb is to focus on each step at hand and to not look too far ahead. Focusing on the peak can be dauting and cause a misstep. But taking one step at time can help me to become sure footed…and before I know it, I’m at the top. I’ve often tackled life this way. I think future dreams and goals are important, but I truly believe being intentional and giving 100% day in and day out builds for a better future. Being present is truly living, and inadvertently builds for a better future.

The next lesson I learned, is that where I came from—the valley—is a necessity. The valley is where the nourishment is. The valley is where the vegetation grows. We must have the peaks for the great views and the valleys for the nourishment to give us strength to get up to the peaks. We cannot stay on top forever because there is no nourishment to replenish our bodies. Life must have ebbs and flows. It must have peaks and valleys…that is what makes us grow. The climb builds our muscles, but we cannot do it without the sustenance from the valley. The view is always worth it, but is only truly appreciated by remembering the climb. The parts of the trip I remember the most were often the most dangerous, scariest, or most challenging. Not only does it make for a better story, but it reminds me of how much I grew and challenged myself. I appreciated the outcome more when more was at stake.

The final and perhaps most important lesson the White Mountains taught me was when the elevation and landscape was flat. Of the entire 55 miles that I traversed in the White Mountains this last trip, only 2 of those miles were smooth sailing. What do you think I did during those two miles? Relish? Take a break? Smell the roses? No way. I was comfortable—I was going to make up some serious time. I found myself walking at a pace that was 3 times my pace going up and down the mountain. I was cruising and only thinking about my final destination. The scenery was blowing by me and I was a one track mind…until…..until……I tripped. Yes—I climbed over 90 degree rock faces and descended down boulders with little injury….but I tripped on a small rock on the flattest, easiest, section of the whole trip. I pierced my right rib falling into a pile of rocks on the side and snapped my hiking pole in efforts to catch myself. One broken pole and one broken rib later, I realized that I got greedy. I got comfortable. I was not present…and where did I land myself? In a pile of rocks. Isn’t this just like life? Isn’t it when we are coasting that we are caught off guard? That we aren’t in the moment? That life always jumps out and trips us up. This isn’t to say that being comfortable is a bad thing. It’s not. But it becomes a bad thing when you are coasting…being stagnant in your comfort. Comfort can be a source of healing…but it will never be a source of growth. That two mile stint allowed me to stretch my legs and muscles, and work out the lactic acid—it was healing to them…but they weren’t being challenged or getting stronger.

Do not separate your Christian Walk from your every day walks in life. They are the same. God is teaching us something in every peak, valley, and plateau—Heck Jesus’s whole ministry was taught in parables! Jesus did promise us that we will face trouble. John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Our spiritual muscles will be exercised—how else do they become strong? God promises to be our source of comfort—not our circumstances. Circumstances should never be the source of comfort. While we can embrace those periods of life where we are on a plateau or in a comfortable spot, we need to be extremely cautious because we are at our most vulnerable. The enemy looks for those times where we aren’t paying attention so he can trip us up. He is always lurking around to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). We are at our weakest when we are in a comfortable stagnate place. We must continue to hold ourselves accountable and pursue God’s word every day so we can be sensitive to enemy attacks. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). The enemy often disguises himself in comfortable and seemingly “good” things…like a 2 mile flat stretch in a grueling 55 mile hike. Did it ever occur to you that God may very well have put that Mountain before you so that He can teach you to learn to trust Him? God uses the highs and lows…the tests and the messes… to develop us and teach us His ways. We still need to make the climb, but we can be sure footed each step of the way by staying in His word and in His presence. When we are weak but in pursuit of Christ, we are in the perfect position to tackle any mountain or valley. 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” There is a season and a reason for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8).

Cycles. Life is about cycles. We cycle through our own peaks and valleys daily, weekly, yearly….we cycle through different stages in life…we cycle through generations. Every stage holds a valuable lesson to us. If we can become wise, intentional, discerning, and sensitive to this idea, we can begin to really live life. Sometimes cycles are shorter than others. It is important that we understand the lesson in each peak, valley, and plateau. That we live fully and intentionally. Not only will our life be fuller, but we will make the lives of others fuller as well. Life is all about growth and relationships. I’d be remiss if I did not mention the passing of a stellar student athlete, Samuel Benshoff. Life and it’s length is not something that is guaranteed. Life is not measured by the length in which we live but rather on the impact in which we had. Being famous has nothing to do with making an impact. Making an impact is being intentional and making others feel valued. The measure of one’s life is not in years, but rather in how the years were spent. The real tragedy is not a short life, but rather a long life that was meaningless and void of intentional relationships. In his short time here, Sam managed to leave a lasting impression on his peers. He was known for his hard work and for being the best teammate. While his time was short here on earth, his impact will far outlive most. While I don’t know why Sam’s time on earth was cut short, I do know that as we walk through this valley together, we can find comfort in our healing and only aspire to keep climbing for Sam. He embraced challenges and lived life to the fullest. To honor his life, would be to carry out his ideals and his legacy. As Christians, we can find comfort in knowing Christ as our savior. While our time here on earth is not promised, we can have the peace of being guaranteed eternal life through our relationship with Christ. John 3:16.

The Dash Poem by Linda Ellis I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend He referred to the dates on the tombstone From the beginning...to the end

He noted that first came the date of birth And spoke the following date with tears, But he said what mattered most of all Was the dash between those years

For that dash represents all the time That they spent alive on earth. And now only those who loved them Know what that little line is worth

For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars...the house...the cash. What matters is how we live and love And how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard. Are there things you'd like to change? For you never know how much time is left That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough To consider what's true and real And always try to understand The way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger And show appreciation more And love the people in our lives Like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect And more often wear a smile, Remembering this special dash Might only last a little while

So, when your eulogy is being read With your life's actions to rehash... Would you be proud of the things they say About how you spent YOUR dash?

Sam, you spent your dash well. I will miss seeing you dash around the soccer field.