The Mountains Shall Bring Peace

Y’all, I love the mountains. I promise if you’ve lived in the oppressive heat and humidity of North Florida or South Georgia like I have my entire life, the mountains are a literal breath of fresh and cool air. I love to roll the car windows down as we enter the curvy mountain roads and the temperature drops. It also keeps the kiddos from losing their lunches as we wind up the mountain roads. My kids like to hold their hands in the air on the downhill parts, pretending to be on a roller coaster. Growing up, my family was blessed to spend two weeks every summer on Lake Burton in the North Georgia mountains. My parents told us the television and the telephone didn’t work, and Wifi didn’t exist. I was even able to find peace and serenity then, which to you might seems obvious, but I had two younger brothers and the family we traveled with had two sons. However, I remember getting up before the sun rose over the peaks and sitting on the porch wrapped in a beach towel with a book—serenity.
This summer, my parents took our family to Lake Burton for a week. Amidst this time of uncertainty with Covid-19 and violence in our cities, to say it was a welcome break is a gross understatement, and I wanted to extend our stay. For me, watching the steam drift above the mountains, brings me closer to God. Psalm 72:3 says that “the mountains shall bring peace to the people.” “God looks at the earth, and it trembles. He touches the mountains, and they smoke.” Psalm 104:32.
What peace we can have when we remember how powerful our God is, and how he created such majesty as the mountains.
I’m not the only one who loves the mountains. Jesus loved them too. Yes! I always love to find out that Jesus and I are on the same page. A few years ago, my pastor read several verses about Jesus going to the mountains to spend time alone with God in prayer. (Luke 6:12 and Matthew 14:23-24) After reading the verses, he asked what we learned from the verses. I responded that God wanted me to have a mountain house. Hmmm. Maybe that is a stretch, but God does want us to have serenity and spend time alone with him. It is a time we restore our strength in our bodies, minds, souls. We need this time alone with Him, and while it is amazing when it happens on a mountain, it can happen anywhere you can sit quietly and not be interrupted. While I spend time with God almost every morning before my family awakes, I also like to designate the first Monday of each month as a time to dwell for a little longer in prayer as I reflect on the way God has worked in my life over the past month and how he wants me to plan for the coming weeks. I’ve missed this monthly mini-retreat lately, and I can tell a difference, and not a good difference, in my life. Next month, I’m already looking forward to carving out this time for God. Why don’t you join me? Let me know how it goes.
In the meantime, here is one last mountain verse. “I lift my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1.