the blessed destination

I just spent a glorious week in the mountains of North Carolina. I love those mountains. Each time I visit, I try to cram in as many hikes as possible. The scenery where my family lives in Hendersonville, and in the surrounding areas, is simply breathtaking. Just being there makes me feel more alive. I've climbed a lot of mountains and hiked to a lot of waterfalls in North Carolina over the years. This trip I made my first solo expedition of one of the more familiar trails. Rising early one morning, I donned my sneakers and headed for Big Glassy Mountain, ready to welcome adventure with open arms. Of course, hiking by myself meant that I had no one to talk to…which means that I had plenty of time to think.

As I climbed, I was captivated by the beauty all around me. Every leaf and blade of grass was glistening with dew. Birds twittered and chirped their morning songs from their perches overhead. The delicate, sticky, sweet mountain laurel blossoms dotted the landscape on either side of me. As I trudged upward, butterflies darted across the path ahead of me...the sunlight that filtered through the trees briefly illuminating their brightly colored wings like bits of stained glass. In a moment of boldness, a rabbit leaped from the woods and hopped a zigzag path just steps ahead of me before disappearing into the woods again. With some wonder and trepidation of my own, I passed a copperhead sunning himself on the rocks at the stream's edge. Looking high up into the towering trees, I could see that the uppermost leaves were shimmering a beautiful hue of brilliant, inviting green as the rising sun's rays shone through them.

At the end of the trail the view awaited me, rewarding me for the strenuous climb. Here high upon the rock I could look down over the treetops to see the mountains rising in the distance. Atop the mountain beneath a vast expanse of clear, blue sky I felt so small. The mountains always make me feel small. Perhaps that's what I love so much about them. They remind me of how big and how great God truly is. Alongside His majestic creations rising thousands of feet into the air, I am instantly dwarfed as are all of my petty burdens and complaints.

That morning as I traveled upward, my thoughts drifted upward as well, far beyond the mountain's summit…toward heavenly things. I thought about how similar the Christian life is to a mountain trail. The journey is often long and at times rather steep. God never promised this life would be easy. There are rocks and tree roots to stumble upon. The Lord is always faithful to lift us up. The climb brings sweat and pain and weariness. Christ is our strength in our times of weakness. The narrow path is curvy and visibility is at a minimum, with great anticipation of what the next bend will reveal. Similarly, we must put our trust in God and have faith that He will see us through to tomorrow as we are so unsure of what it will bring.

There are wonderful and lovely surprises along the path much like the butterflies and the rabbit, but there are also dangers along the way such as the venomous snake coiled on the rocks. Through our most joyous moments and our darkest hours, the Lord is right there with us. He rejoices with us and cries with us.

Then, at the end of the trail, after many bumps and bruises…at last we arrive at our destination. At last we arrive at the relationship with our Heavenly Father that our souls have longed for from our birth. We find eternal residence with Him in heaven with a view more spectacular than we will ever be able to imagine while we live here on earth.

I can't wait to meet Jesus face to face at the top of a mountain one day!