As we were flying to Texas the other day to check out some colleges with my second oldest, I overheard a woman describing the town she was from. She said it is tucked away in a little corner of the North East. I could hear the warmth for her home in her voice as she was speaking. She talked about how the trees were not huge, but there were very beautiful forested areas. What struck me the most was when she said that the nature there was not the “wow” that you might see in many other areas of the country, but it was quietly beautiful. I knew exactly what she meant.
I have had the privilege of seeing some amazing sights in our country. I have seen the giant stone mountains of Yosemite. I have been in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and made my way to the top of Pike’s Peak. I have lived in California my whole life and have stood where the land and the ocean meet many times. I have gazed up at the giant redwood trees in the coastal forests.
However, I too live in a place of quiet beauty. The oak trees out my windows don’t make a flashy show of color in the Fall, but they subtly change throughout the year in a steady way. The little bluebirds may not be as brightly colored as some of their feathered friends, but they too are consistently busy adding cheer to the world just outside.
There is a difference in how we experience these two types of nature. The “wow” type can inspire awe in us for our Creator. I know when I saw the mountains in Yosemite, it really sunk in just how big our God must be. These types of experiences make me think of our “mountain top” times with God, the spiritual highs. The other, quieter type of nature makes me think of our day-to-day lives or the times when we need to “soak” with God, the times when we just need to lean on our Heavenly Father.
Even Jesus, when He was here on Earth, had these two different types of experiences. He had the moment after Baptism when the Heavens opened up and His Father blessed Him. He went up to the Mount of Transfiguration. Then He also experienced being alone and fasting for 40 days and being tested by Satan. He spent many quiet hours alone praying with God.
We need both of these types of experiences in our spiritual walk. The mountain top times can give us vision, excitement and spur us on, but just like most of us can’t live at Yosemite, we also cannot maintain that type of spiritual high constantly. We are designed to come back down to the quieter, steadier places and live out–sometimes struggle out–those “wow” moments of the mountains.
“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” Psalm 95:1-5
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