WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2021 - MOUNTAINS - DAY 2

 WEDNESDAY JUNE 16, 2021 - MOUNTAINS - DAY 2

“I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2

I’m thinking of mountains this week.  Tomorrow, I’m going to use an audiobook “The Second Mountain” as a basis of my thoughts.  

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So - mountains.  In particular, I remember being with my family on Maui.  We did a drive to the northwest area of Maui, and we had the ocean on our left, and a mountain on the right.  I was looking at the mountain - which was an old volcano - which was kind of barren since it was on the leeward side of the island (the part that didn’t get much rain).  There were some tracks where four-wheel vehicles drove on the mountain.  I was thinking about how they might get to the summit.   It seemed like the rest of my family was looking towards the left with the breaking surf.  (Not that I don’t like beaches and the ocean, but mountains are much more interesting to me!!!)

Why is that?  

In the musical, “The Sound of Music”, I thought the biggest song was “Climb Every Mountain” (as it seemed the most dramatic):

Climb every mountain

Ford every stream

Follow every rainbow

'Till you find your dream

A dream that will need

All the love you can give

Every day of your life

For as long as you live

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN.  Every mountain - go.  You need to search to find that dream.  It doesn’t come as an advertisement on social media:  “Hey, <name goes here>.  In analyzing your likes, clicks, and activity, the following is your dream”.  Wouldn’t that be nice - take all the work out of searching for your dream - or maybe not.  Maybe the good part of a dream and the good part of climbing a hill or mountain might not be in the view from the top, but the joy in getting to the top.  

Dreams are important - dreams are like goals - aim for them.  Proverbs 13:12b.  “A Dream fulfilled is a tree of life”.  Climb those mountains, ford those streams!!!  Keep going!!!

George Mallory, a famous mountaineer (who may or may not have climbed Mount Everest first) was asked “"Why did you want to climb Mount Everest?" with the retort, "Because it's there", which has been called "the most famous three words in mountaineering".  (He never returned, so some speculate he did conquer the peak and fell on his way down).  

Climbing and even hiking take planning.  A major attack on Mount Everest will require tents, oxygen, food, ladders, clothes, ice axes, and the right gear.  Planning a trip may take several months.  Such expeditions can be expensive - flights to Kathmandu, porters to get all the gear to the mountain, establishing camps - base camps, camps 1, 2, 3, and maybe 4.  Communication is better these days, but with the potential for rotten weather having communication channels is important.  Base camp will need to be in touch with weather forecasters.  Some expeditions on Mount Everest had to “buckle down” for days as storms blew through.  

Even day hikes need some planning.  Shoes, appropriate clothes, water (hydration can be critical), and plans for the hike.  Yes, on Sleeping Giant there was less planning, but even for a two-hour hike, I needed to be prepared.  

(Aside - I “had to” hike one December day.  I had given tests all week and graded them, and I needed to get out.  Other things pushed my time back and by the time I started, the sun was already low in the sky.  And, by the time it was dark, I was still on the trail- and was coming down.  It was before cell phones (and the flashlight app) so I made the last half-mile very carefully.  Note - hiking alone might be my preference, but, don’t be stupid Karen!!!)

Climbing high mountains can be extremely dangerous.  A friend told of climbing Denali with a group and one member went totally berserk and ultimately they had to tie him up to get him down the mountain. Seemingly he was just going to take off all his clothes and jump off a cliff. Frostbite and lack of oxygen are two common problems.

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But, mountains are used in the language in other ways.  “Get to the top” (the top of the business, the top of his/her class). Being ambitious is good in many ways and not so good if you have to step on people, and don’t play fair.   Maybe a person can be like the climber on Denali who went crazy and had to be tied up in order to get him down.  Figurative mountains might need to be like literal mountains - at what point do you say “enough is enough”. 

Climbing does need planning - the bigger the climb, the more the planning.  In a job, in life, in a marriage, whatever, planning can make the difference.  

And, climbing those ‘mountains’ can be tough.  Maybe you want to give up.  It’s not worth it.  I know of people who sank their lives into their careers - and lost their spouse and family along the way.  

I’ve been known to build mountains (maybe you have too).  I build my towering peaks from the dirt outside of a rodent's lair (“build a mountain out of molehills”).  

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But, back to the Psalm, "I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” There is a little disconnect - the Psalmist says he is lifting up his/her eyes to the hills.  It doesn’t say “God is there”.  By lifting his/her head up, he can see God's help.  He anticipates a blessing.  

I know that when my head droops and I am looking at the ground, that I’m ‘down’, but when my head is up, I’m awake and alive.  

And, it isn’t always obvious to me, when things aren’t quite right, I NEED to lift up my head and look for help!!!

For me, LOVE DOES WIN.

I love you all!!!

Karen

(Another note.  Nepal is a poor country.  By selling the rights to climb Mount Everest, they have some international income.  Plus the food, sherpas (native porters), and other gear.  In recent years, there has been terrible crowding on the mountain since so many want to climb the highest peak in the world!!!)