Mountain Top Moments

 Have you ever had a “mountain top moment?” Life is full of highs and lows, but can you look back in your life and name the high moments? Maybe it was the day you got accepted into that one school, passed that one class. Maybe it was your wedding day or the arrival of a special family member, or a holiday filled with great family memories. Maybe it was the day you had an encouraging conversation with someone who wanted to know Jesus. Maybe it was the first time you experienced God’s presence for yourself…

Have you ever had a moment you have experienced God in a supernatural way - moments you know without a shadow of doubt that there is a God who loves you? Where somewhere deep in your soul you feel fully known and fully loved?  

I had my own mountain top experience recently. Literally. 

I found a mountain side trail during a personal retreat. As I started hiking the trail, I felt the wind beckoning me to “come and see” what was at the top. Once I got to the top, I sat down to watch the sun sink into the surrounding hillside, behind the trees, casting a magnificent view over the valley. It was breathtaking. And there seemed to be this precious peace, enforcing you to whisper to protect the moment. It seemed like it was an invitation to come and rest. Enjoy the view, breathe, and practically feel the stress melt away… 

I remembered a song my sister suggested so I put it on to listen to the words.

You will never leave

Your love sustaining me
Before I even knew
What love was

You've brought me here to rest
And given me space to breathe
So I'll stay still until
It sinks in

And I will lean back in the loving arms
Of a beautiful Father
Breathe deep and know that He is good
He's a love like no other

And now I can see Your love is better
Than all the others that I've seen
I'm breathing deep, of all Your goodness
Your loving-kindness to me
“Lean Back” by Maverick City Music:

 

In that moment, I knew why I was there. I had come here to lean back into His arms, to remind myself of His love, and to rest. It never felt so good! I couldn’t stop smiling! My heart was singing!

 

During the next two weeks, I started noticing this theme of “mountains” appearing in every conversation, every story I was absorbing from Scripture….(Have you ever wondered how symbolic mountains are in the Bible?)

·          Moses goes to Mt. Sinai to seek God’s face and direction for the nation he was now leading.

·          Elijah goes to Mt. Carmel to display God’s power to the prophets of Baal, and asks God for rain!

·          Jesus often retreats to the mountains to pray in solitude.

·          Jesus prayed at the Mount of Olives before he is executed on Calvary (a hill).

·          In Psalms, mountains are often used as symbols of stability, things that never change. 

 

Throughout Scripture mountains are a place where God’s Spirit dwells, a symbol of His majesty and stability. As powerful as mountain tops moments seem to be, we were never meant to stay on the mountain.

 

There is a time to go to the mountain to seek God’s face and then there is a time to walk with Him (by faith) through the valley.

 

Hmm… I wonder where else mountains have been a part of my story?  I found myself asking.

When I was discerning where to serve after graduation, I remember worshiping at church on a Sunday while we sang “All the Poor and Powerless” and the words to the bridge said:

Shout it

Go on and scream it from the mountains

Go on and tell it to the masses

That He is God

 

In full surrender of the moment, my heart cried, Ok God, where are these mountains and masses? Let’s Go!

The Vancouver skyline, with the mountains surrounding a sea of 2.5 million people flashed in my mind. It couldn’t have been any clearer what the next step was. After the service, I made my way to the alter to surrender my will to his, where He wanted me, whenever He wanted to send me, that’s what I will say yes to.

In hilarious irony, three years later I am walking with Him in this literal “valley” at UBC.

 

Some questions to ponder:  

What has your mountain top moment been?

How have you experiences “walking by faith” in the valley?

What has helped you fix your eyes on Jesus during those times?

Coaching Lifestyle

If COVID has taught us one thing, it would be to take time to notice things around us. Not only our use of proxemics, but also our mannerisms and eye contact. We follow (or ignore altogether) the signs posted on every door, floor and window. Stand here, don't sit here, wear your mask, wash your hands, don't touch you face, etc. So many things to be mindful of. It can be stressful! (Don't even get my started about the shopping at the grocery store...) 

But then there are everyday things mindfulness benefits. 

I have tried to become more mindful of what I put into my body, what I allow my thoughts to dwell on, how to sort and process emotions, and enjoying simple things like rain clouds and spider webs. Last week, I spend 30 minutes admiring an intricate spider web, marveling at his precision and work ethic! 

Mondays are the days I set aside to mindful meditate on the mundane while taking a break from my monotonous schedule.  On a recent sunny Monday, I was grateful to enjoy the afternoon in my hammock. One of my favorite places to hammock is by the sports fields because there is bound to be at least one other person enjoying the day. I unpacked my hammock kit to set up camp. The kit usually consist of something cold or warm to drink, a snack, a book, my journal, ear buds, and of course my hammock. 

This week I was happy to see I made it just in time for ladies rugby practice! I watched as they carried the heavy equipment to the field, hydrated, and then assembled into a ring surrounding the coach. In a delight foreign accent, he gave some instructions for the day and they started stretching. You would have thought I was attending an important game as I pulled out my snacks and smiled excitedly for the game to start! 

But as I started watching the coaches talk to their players, explain the drill, and give verbal affirmation I started writing down observations and was struck by this reality - I have the same responsibilities! 

Up until this point of my life and ministry, I have always considered myself a team player who has to make certain sacrifices, work hard and faithfully in order to win. But now, I can see how God is building me to become more of a coach. One where instead of following a coaches command, I have been asked to lead a group of players. These players come in the form of university students who are trying to figure out life and faith for themselves. As a coach, it is my responsibility and honor to disciple them and help equip them with what they will need when following Jesus. We take prayer walks and learn how to pray, we study scriptures together and set up reading plans. We practice sharing the Gospel and practice conversation starters. As a coach, I look at the big picture and vision cast to them who then go out and do these things "on the field". 

On Netflix, there is a show called The Playbook: A Coach's Rule for Life which I found fascinating. I have a long list of questions for coaches when given the opportunity to ask! 

Here are some questions for you: 

1. Who is your coach and what impact have the had on you? Do you remember your coaches names? How did they help shape you as a person?

 2. Do you consider yourself a coach or an athlete? 

3. Who are you coaching/leading/discipling? What are you teaching them to do in order to succeed/ thrive in their faith? 

It's called "Faith-fully Complaining"...

Seven months ago, I was walking with a friend through a park. I was sharing about some of the things I was wrestling with at the time - loneliness, lost sense of purpose, I was not happy with my circumstances, it was a typical three steps forward, two steps back. Some things were changing, others were not changing fast enough. After spilling all of that out, she looked at me and said, “Maybe you need to learn to lament…”

I had no idea what that meant, but I spend the next hour staring at the duck pond lost in thought. During the next few weeks that topic came up over 10 times. It was everywhere! I went to a conference and a friend shared this message. The next weekend I was helping host a breakout session at another conference titled “How to Worship in Hard Times.” Flipping through journal entries, I was shocked to see so many pages about this topic, (which would give anyone else who read them understandable concern!) God has been sowing these seeds in my life for MONTHS – which made me question,

  God, what are you preparing me for or who do you want me to give this word to?  

I had no idea that 2020 would radically change the plans I had mapped out for the next 8 months, in a matter of a weekend. I had no idea that school would be over, students would leave campus and I wouldn’t even get to hug them goodbye. I had no idea that I would be “stuck” in Canada not knowing when I would get to see my family again. I had no idea that an illness would become a global pandemic, forcing governments to lock down, economies to crumble, and isolate people from each other. In a matter of hours, I was faced with too many hard decisions that affected a large group of people, failing to answer the questions being thrown at me, over- analyzing whether I should go Texas before the border closed.

  God, what do you want me to do?

Silence. 

Confusion. 

Questions. 

Pain. 

Silence.  

For a while I was just numb. I didn’t know what to do, what to think, or even how to pray. Grief is a process that goes through a cycle of shock, denial, acceptance, and adapting to a new normal. I was stuck somewhere between shock and denial for over a week. I couldn’t believe what was happening on a personal level, much less a global level! Living in an international city, the fear is tangible. (Side not: I will never again watch an apocalyptic movie because I felt like I walked into one on a trip to downtown one day.) My emotions were all over the place, I was disoriented with no concept of time (or days). I had no energy, because as an extrovert, I gain energy just being around people. (This is the first time I have lived by myself, too!) I felt like I was failing others by not reaching out to check on them, because I was drowning in my own struggle.

I felt like I was at the beach standing in the ocean, turning around to enjoy the view of the shore from the water. When all of a sudden, a wave came up behind me with a powerful force, knocking my knees, pulling me under. I started flailing my arms to rise about the water so I can breathe, but it was quickly zapping my energy. Suddenly, my feet felt a rock just below the surface allowing me to stand to catch a breath. That rock became my refuge, a safe place from the waves threaten to overwhelm me.

“God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. Therefore, I will not fear, though the earth gives way and the mountains are moved into the heart of the sea.” Psalms 46:1-2

He has been my refuge – a safe place to breathe.

He has been my strength – especially when I have none.

He is an ever-present help in these troubled times. That even when things we thought were invincible and stable (like earth and mountains), we do not have fear! Just like clinging to the rock in the ocean, I cling to this truth in an ocean of uncertainty.

Psalm 46 has been on my heart, mind, and arm the past week. Literally, I designed a henna tattoo I drew on my arm as a reminder of God’s presence and strength! 

This has changed the way I have adapted to this “time of trouble”, how I structure my day, how I encourage others, and even how I pray. For a while, I was afraid to lament and intercede for others due to my own insecurities of doubts and pain. My heart was breaking for those who have no home to go to, for the students who won’t get to celebrate their hard work at graduation, for the weddings of friends being postponed, or the summer travel plans cancelled. So much loss and not enough closure. I couldn’t do it. I denied Jesus’ invitation to “weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn.” All held back because of my own weakness. Jesus was not afraid of weakness, because He saw it as an opportunity for His Father's glory to be displayed. Instead, Jesus entered into people's pain, sat with them, cried with them, prayed over them, and pointed them back to the Father. Actually, the most beautiful lament recorded is Jesus in the Garden the night before He was sent to the cross. He was lamenting over the events of the next 24 hours…

Lament – a faith-filled complaint to the Lord. Lament says "its ok not to be ok" with your circumstances, to question, and to even doubt as long as you are standing on the foundation of the Truth of who God is. Jesus was anxious about what was coming – all the suffering and pain he felt when he became the sacrifice for all humanity. He felt the weight of darkness creeping up to him, threaten to overthrow him. He was so anxious he started sweating drops of blood! 

He knew it would break his heart. 

He knew he couldn’t do it in his own strength. 

He knew that God was with Him, even then! 

Yet He surrendered, “...not my will be done, but yours, Father.” 

Did you know that 2/3 of the Psalms are laments? David asks God so many questions as he wrestles through life events and hardships during his reign as king. Yet, he was still considered a “man after God’s own heart” because his foundation was on who God was as the Great I Am. David vocally vented his frustration, pain, and confusion regarding his circumstances, but still acknowledged God as God.
I don't know about you, but I have a lot of frustration, grief, and confusion swimming through my mind during the last few weeks. I have stuggled to make sense of it, but after reflecting on all these seeds God has been sowing in my life, I take this time as an invitaion to lament. To not be ok with the circumstances around me (that doesn't mean I am negative or judgmental, but rather honest) and yet still remain firm that God is good. I have been holding on to these truths for dear life: 

He is in control and he is unchangable - when everything else is changing. 

He is unshakable - even when everything else is shifting.
He is unstoppable - he is not limited bywalls, doors, of even 6 feet.
He embraces us, holds us, provides for us, comforts us, and loves us unconditionally.  That is just who He is. 

So I will leave you with two questions to consider... 

1. What do you need to lament to God about today?

“What else alters your vision than with tears? Be religiously inappropriate, God is not limited by your vocabulary or your pride!” – Aaron White with 24/7 Prayer Canada

2. What truth about God do you cling to? (What scripture do you base your answer on?)

*Images from Google Images and https://www.tvcresources.net/resource-library/articles/the-lost-art-of-lament