Mountains

Yesterday after working I headed to Target for black pants and left with saltine crackers, chocolate milk and foot lotion. And no black pants. But that's not the point. The point was that as I left Target, at a high point of the area, the sky was amazing. The type of amazing where you cannot tell if the masses in front of you are clouds or mountains. It made me think of when I went to Denver in high school. We landed at dusk, and as we rode away from the airport towards the mountains, I couldn't tell if the silent, jagged blocks in front of us were clouds or masses of land. Turns out they were mountains, not the clouds I had expected in my western Michigan mindset. Last night was an odd experience, my brain kept playing tricks on me as I drove home. It was a familiar path, familiar landmarks. But the skyline, the skyline was massive, like the Rocky's with the sky faintly glimmering gold above... in Frederick. It was an odd thing to see-- so utterly believable, yet obviously not true.

I love mountains. Someone told me once people are naturally mountain people or ocean people. I rejected the thought, not liking the idea of limiting oneself to claim only one of the amazing things God created. I love the ocean, I love the mountains. I love it all! Doesn't everyone? But maybe I am a mountain person. They make my heart soar. My lips crack into a smile when driving along the Appalachians. When visiting Leen in Utah I squealed at the scene out her living room window. And in Denver they took my breath away. They capture my attention, my fascination. I want to climb them to see what they see when they look down on me. I want to know what it feels like to hop on their boulders, slide down their slopes, crest their top to see beyond. I love them. So driving that 8 minutes home, I fancifully trained my brain to accept the scene before it as true. "Look God," I thought. "You're giving me mountains." I wanted to take a picture, but knew it wouldn't turn out well, the scope, the believability of the scene would not translate. So I just drove with one eye on the road, the other to the horizon, feeling comforted and unexplicably hopeful about the future, a small jog up in my recently dampened mood.

Then I parked my car, took my saltine crackers, chocolate milk and foot lotion into my apartment, and my mountains blew away with the wind.

I woke up sad today. So I thought I should read Psalms. Of course, it matters what part of Psalms (murder anyone?), but I thought I'd find a Psalm that spoke of desparation and God's faithfulness and deliverance. Because in my sad mood, that was desired. And needed.

I thought I would like Psalm 120 this morning. So I turned to 120. And liked it, and kept reading. And I reached Psalm 125:2:

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore.

I smiled. How lovely.