Happy Thursday, Making Space for God, community. Do you ever see #throwbackThursday pictures on social media? Well, today we’re going to do a “Throwback Thursday” right here on the blog. Below is a throwback to an older blog post – almost 10 years old, wow! – but the message still rings true. Many of you have heard me tell this story in my teachings. Sometimes we want to settle for something good but God is encouraging us to climb higher for His best. Join me in this spiritual journey “up the mountain” as we make Space for God together.
Hollyhocks in full bloom by Blount Ellison
I recently went on a hiking and fishing trip in Idaho in an area called the Saw Tooth Wilderness. I should say “fishing” loosely because I didn’t really fly fish. I just went along for the ride on a float trip one day and another day read beside the Salmon River while my husband fished!! What a magnificent part of the world! If any of you dear people from Idaho are reading this please know that I am totally in love with Idaho. Everyone was so friendly and the landscape reflected the glory of God in every possible way.
Although the vacation was physically active, I had a spiritual awakening that I want to share with you. We climbed a mountain in order to see hollyhock flowers that were in full bloom. It was quite a unique thing as hollyhock seeds can stay dormant for 100 years. There was a forest burn and just the right amount of rain caused the hollyhocks to bloom and burst forth with color. I was told that the burn eliminates all competition and allows the sunlight to break through creating the perfect conditions for flowers. We walked halfway up the mountain and found a beautiful patch of hollyhocks. But a woman approached us and told us not to stop there but to continue climbing higher. She encouraged us not to settle for this small but lovely patch of flowers but to go and see the rest at the top of the mountain. We huffed and puffed (ok, it was just me huffing and puffing) all the way to the top and then suddenly we saw what was the most breathtaking sight I have ever seen. A mountain top filled with thousands of flowers! We were amazed.
Had we settled for halfway, we would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime.
Another day we hiked up another mountain to a lake. We were disappointed because the lake was nothing special and we had worked hard to get there. Once again, fellow hikers coming down the mountain told us not to stop– to keep climbing and we would be rewarded. Again, practically gasping for air, we climbed – 1,000 feet to an elevation of 10,000 and then we saw the most magnificent site you can imagine; craggy mountain peaks and a basin below known as Ants Basin. I sensed the Lord speaking to my heart reminding me that I could have stopped short of seeing this glorious place.
Dear fellow travelers, don’t stop short of the mountain top. Keep climbing higher. It is easy to settle for what seems good but God is always taking us higher so that we can see the magnificent views and take them into the valley. Each day we climb spiritually as we seek to know the Lord. It may be a difficult climb, but the rewards are worth the effort. See you on the next mountain!!
