I'm not sure when my love for the mountains began, but I have always felt at peace among the rolling hills of North Georgia. When I lived in Korea, I often visited the mountains when I felt homesick for Georgia, and it brought instant comfort. I've spent time hiking trails, splashing in creeks, being sprayed by waterfalls, and even tripping and falling in my pursuit of tranquility. I live about 45 min from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and so when I have a free weekend, I escape the traffic and the crowds and retreat to the forest-covered peaks. I find so much joy in that first glimpse of the blue hills that beckon me to come closer.
As I often do when I drive, I thought about my Dad. Today I realized I had never asked him if he preferred the mountains or the beach. He could nap like nobody's business on a beach, or fly a kite for hours until the kite was no longer visible to the naked eye. He loved snorkeling and exploring the ocean, but I think my Dad would have said the mountains. He loved to go fast on the winding roads, (which made my mom crazy) he enjoyed a small mountain town, and stopping in a candy shop for something sweet. And every couple years he would gather our whole family and we'd spend a long weekend in a cabin together. He loved having all of us together playing a game, chatting, sitting in the hot tub, watching a movie, or even having our own little church service on Sunday morning. I'm like my Dad in so many ways and I'm glad we shared a love for the mountains.
When I spend time in nature my thoughts often gravitate towards the Creator, I've had many conversations with the Lord as I sit on a rock, or fallen tree, or river bank. As I hung out with Jesus today I remembered how He also loved the mountains. Jesus on several occasions found his way to a solitary place in the mountains to pray. One of my favorite examples of Jesus going to the mountains was after His cousin, John the Baptist was beheaded. Matthew 14 says that when Jesus heard the news of John's death, he "withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place." However, the crowds that had witnessed Him do miracles wanted to see more and they followed Him. When Jesus' boat landed and He saw the large crowds He had compassion on them and ended up healing their sick and feeding them. There were 5000 men not including women and children! After the crowd had eaten their fill and the leftovers from 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish were collected, Jesus dismissed them and sent His disciples ahead of him back across the sea. The Bible says that He went up on a mountainside to pray. Jesus was hurting, His cousin and friend was killed because he wouldn't stop proclaiming that Jesus was coming and that He was the Lamb of God. The crowds were needy and wanted miracles and provision from Him. And so when He finally had a moment to Himself to grieve and commune with His Father, He went up to the mountains.
As much as I love that I'm like my Dad, today the Lord showed me that I'm also like Jesus. I've struggled to see that lately and the enemy wants to make me hyper-focused on all the ways I'm not like Jesus. But, just like Jesus had compassion on the clueless crowd, the Father has compassion on me. Twice this week He has found a way to make sure I know that I am like Jesus. A friend lavished some much-needed encouragement on me and spoke truth to me about who I am. And God used my visit to the mountains today to encourage my spirit that He enjoys me and loves sharing His creation with me.
There are hard days behind me and there are hard days ahead, so I'm going to be grateful today for the gift of the mountains.
