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| ps from ps… I’ll never forget the view. Spectacular! You could see everything from up there. On the island of Ile a Vache, where our mission partner Grace Ministries is located, it is very hilly terrain. But there is one large mountain that stands above the rest. And if you are walking from the open-air market in Madame Bernard to the mission in Grande Plaine, you have two choices: go around it (and add an extra 30 minutes of walking in 90+ degrees) or go over it. So over it we went! Pastor Jeremiah was with me on that journey and we decided shorter was better. It was a slow roll up the side of the steep hill and finally after a few breaks for water, we made it. Exhausted and over heated, we were treated to the best view on the island. You could see our Grand Plaine school and orphanage on the west end of the island all the way to our Pointe East school on the other end. We could have stayed up there for hours resting and taking it all in. But we knew we had to get back down and return to the school children because there was more work to do. In Mark’s gospel, Jesus invited a few of the disciples up an important hill for an important experience: to see it all. On that mountain top, Jesus was transfigured (changed) and it became abundantly clear to the disciples that this was God in their midst. They did what we wanted to do: rest in it and take it all in. They wanted to hang onto that moment and soak it up. But Jesus invited them back down the mountain. Because, there was more work to be done. THat’s what they were called to do. The mountain top experience was there for them to recognize the connection to God and the big picture of what they were called to do. In Haiti, that mountain top experience was there for Jeremiah and me to see the same thing: God was with us but God was calling us. Back down the mountain. There’s more work to be done. These types of mountain top experiences come in all shapes and sizes and places and times in our lives. They are profoundly impactful and they are there for a reason: to show us that God is with us and God is calling us. As we transition into the season of Lent in the days ahead, may your “returning to the Lord” be driven and propelled by those experiences. May you remember the spectacular “view” you experienced, taking in the sheer beauty of the big picture of God’s love. And may that experience lead you right back down the mountain. Because, there’s more work to be done. Lord, thank you for the mountain tops. May they lead me into the work you are calling me to do. Amen Still in One Peace, ps |
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