I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Unto the Hills...

There is a place, when traveling south on the Burt T Combs Mountain Parkway that is perhaps one of my favorite spots to drive in the world.  Coming over a short rise and curving around the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, somewhere around mile marker 10, they are visible in the distance: ridges and ridges, overlapping on another…the mountains of Eastern Kentucky that were our home for 13 years.  When they became officially home is unclear to me now; my childhood home is in Michigan, and the family I love is still there.  We live there now, and are happy in our beautiful home.  So much of my life and my loves are in the north, but the sight of those mountain ridges rising to the sky brings a sigh of relief; a satisfaction; a sense of arrival that no other place in the world provides. 

  

In many ways, though I was in my 30’s when we moved there, I believe I “grew up” in the mountains.  It was within the shadow of the mountains that I learned to be more than just a spectator in life; I learned the importance of ministry.  I learned the meaning of sacrifice and the joy of simplicity.  I learned that personal success has nothing to do with financial gain or prestige.  Most importantly, I learned that God’s gift to use reaches beyond salvation to sanctification; I learned to be set apart for God’s purpose though his cleansing power. 

I chose my vocation in the mountains, or rather, it chose me.  I learned that God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called!  He sees the strengths and talents hidden inside and draws them out in the most unexpected ways.  I learned that “little is much when God is in it” and that by “standing on the promises of God” that “I can do all things”.  His promises are true.

Tonight, as I write this, I am once again sheltered in the shadow of the mountains.  As we drove down for our visit yesterday, I waited for mile marker 10 and gazed once again in awe and contentment at the mountains rising before us.  They never change…though the seasons dress them in different attire. Whenever I see them, I always think of Psalm 121:

¹ I will lift up my eyes to the hills—
         From whence comes my help?
 ² My help comes from the LORD,
         Who made heaven and earth.
        
 ³ He will not allow your foot to be moved;
         He who keeps you will not slumber.
 ⁴ Behold, He who keeps Israel
         Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
        
 ⁵ The LORD is your keeper;
         The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
 ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
         Nor the moon by night.
        
 ⁷ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil;
         He shall preserve your soul.
 ⁸ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in
         From this time forth, and even forevermore

God dwells everywhere…there is no denying that…but it seems, here in the mountains, we are just a tiny bit closer to heaven.  Maybe I am biased.  Or maybe I am just where God wants me to be.  If it His will, maybe we will return here some day and pick up where left off.  Until then, whenever I can, I will lift up my eyes to the hills and remember the One who is always my shelter.