Day 11: Mountain of God

Mountain of God is a song that I have newly discovered, however it echoes a poem that I have know for a while.  I am not sure of the author of the poem, but the title of the poem is "It's in the Valleys I Grow."  You can find the words to the poem here.

The end of the chorus of Mountain of God says this:
Now I realize the truth,
That I must go through the valley
To stand upon the mountain of God

Often I have heard camp experiences, experiences of big worship gatherings, and the like, referred to as "mountain top" experiences.  These are experiences where we often feel safe in a community of believers, everyone is alive and passionate about their faith.  People pray thoroughly, act carefully and love graciously.  I have been to the mountain top several times, and it has played a significant role in the shaping of my faith.

At the end of the summer, when the campers had gone and my co-workers and I were preparing to leave, we sat around our staff room with our boss.  She was reminding us that life would be very different after we left camp.  We were going to encounter situations that were not easy and decisions that were hard to make, and we didn't have the immediate comfort and protection that being in the present community provided.  She was reminding us that at the base of the mountain, things would be different.  We all agreed that we had to come down from the mountain.

What I have found this year is that God is the same distance from me when I am on the mountain top as He is when I am in the valleys.  He is constant.  He gives us both experiences in life - mountain and valley - because He knows there are things in each of those places that shape our hearts and our faith.  He also knows how to use us for His purpose in those places, in the lives of others around us.  Just as the mountain tops have played a significant role in my relationship with God, so too have the valleys.

This is a picture from Rocky Mountain National Park that I took when I was at the National American Baptist Youth gathering in Estes Park, CO in 2008.  In the most literal sense, I was on the mountain top.  The theme of the conference was "More Than a Week," which I took to mean that we should always be in the mountain top mindset.  I have come to realize that what has lasted more than a week, is God's presence.

~SP