Today’s post is from one of my friends and fellow writers, Joy Lenton.
Joy Lenton is a wife, mother, grandma-in-waiting and M.E sufferer. A lot of her days are spent in PJs penning poetry and prose. She loves connecting with people, reading, drinking coffee and eating dark chocolate. Before chronic illness scuppered her plans, she worked as a nurse. Joy has a heart to support and encourage others by sharing her faith and life experiences. She blogs at Poetry Joy and would love to connect with you on Facebook or Twitter. And you should connect with her, seriously.
From a distance, mountains draw attention as they add shape, texture and definition to the landscape. Close up, they’re even more impressive, and daunting if a climb is being contemplated. Are we adequately prepared? Have we remembered to bring all the equipment necessary for the task? Questions flood in and fear can paralyse our steps.
Similarly, mountains loom large and sudden in our lives, leaving us feeling weak-kneed with indecision, crippled by anxiety and with a heart sinking in discouragement. How in the world do we face up to (never mind scale) this mountain of: shame, sickness, pain, grief, hardship, loss, failure or financial pressure? It all seems so insurmountable. And it probably is in our own strength, which is naturally limited by weariness, weakness, doubt and fear.
These mountains cast a dark shadow over our days (and often our nights too) as they appear impenetrable and immoveable. At times like this it helps to check in with our mountain-moving God and get His perspective on the situation.
Is this one we circle with endurance, no matter how long it takes? Or ask Him to remove? Or scale with His assistance? The answer can vary. It may involve all three possibilities to some extent.
I’ve circled, trudged weary and slow for years around a mountain of sickness and pain, my shoes full of wilderness sand that I just long to shake off.
In the past I crept slower still around a mountain of deep depression, despair and discouragement, heavily laden with guilt and shame over the emotional and sexual abuse I encountered as a child.
Sometimes the mountain ground me down. Often-times, it seemed to edge away a little into the distance. But it never disappeared completely. Only now have I started to climb these mountains.
My guide, Holy Spirit, accompanies me with each step I take toward overcoming these mountains. He makes sure my shoes don’t wear out, hope is rekindled in my heart and a lightening in my spirit enables me to lift my head up high to view the mountain differently than I did before.
Our vision can get distorted as we are weighed down by the everyday struggles. Looking up to God is essential to persevere on the journey. We gain courage and comfort as we drink at the fountain of grace, refreshing ourselves in its still waters.
Peace can be ours even as we live in shadow-lands.
I’m not at the top of my mountain yet. But the summit is in view. It’s a bright and glorious vista God grants as I glimpse it in His word and become hooked on the promise.
Faith, trust, belief, all come into play in making it through and seeing change, however minuscule it may feel.
The poem below describes how hard it can be to climb such mountains. I’d like to encourage you to keep pressing on too as you believe for change to come.
Not at the top
I’m not at the top
of this mountain
I’m climbing
I can’t
see the view
that’s obscured
and skewed
by mists of misunderstanding
and fogs of fear.
Pausing and panting
hard to draw breath
when everything inside
longs to get near
the summit
to shout loud,
and clear, “I made it
after all these years
and at last
I’m here!”
So I may
climb slow
and I may
have to rest
as I shelter a while
in the Rock
who knows where
I am heading
and The Way
that is best
to arrive there..
one day.
©JoyLenton2013
One day, we will look back and see how far we have come and how much we have learnt along the way. For it is the journey itself that makes and shapes us powerfully into the people God desires us to become.
Not a crumb of our lives is wasted. God uses everything to make us like Christ.
Meanwhile, try not to allow the mountain to move you too much. Rest and lean on the Rock that is Christ. Draw breath, inhale the fragrance of His Presence, be revived by His grace, and know that He will provide all the safety and shelter you need to regain strength for what lies ahead.
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress; I shall never be shaken” ~ Psalm 62:1-2
Joy, your poetry is like a spring of cool water in the desert. And it is truly a ministry. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry as you encourage others. You are a beacon for the weary. You know. You’ve been around that mountain and know every nook and cranny. Thankfully, the Lord always waits {for us slow climbers} at the top of each mountain we overcome!
Caryn, I love that thought — the Lord waiting at the top of a mountain for us as we slowly climb. No judgment. No irritation. Only love in His eyes.
🙂
Beautiful. I love the simple act of looking up while praying, and feeling God’s love shine down on our faces. Your words reminded me of that.
Chris/Joy,
So glad I read this today. Will definitely share. Joy, you speak as one who does understand and quite possibly because you are not at the top. And while it’s true that we don’t reach that top here, there are some who camp out where they are and celebrate they have arrived. Missing out on so much more. More struggle, more pain. But also more understanding from those who watch.
We are broken. Why we question why we limp is a puzzle to me. Love it. Thank you.
This is one of the lines that captured me. So often, I want to strive and struggle and figure it out. All I need to do to stop, pray and sense the love of God to be able to move forward
What a beautiful poem! I love drawing strength and inspiration from other people. You’ve really got a beautiful thing going here.
Wow, thank you, Caryn! I am deeply touched by your kind words. And grateful beyond words to the One who gifts me with poetic expression.
Yes, wilderness dwelling and mountain circling are familiar pursuits. I’m sharing in your thankfulness that “the Lord always waits {for us slow climbers} at the top of each mountain we overcome”!
It’s pretty awesome to have so many voices sharing hope, isn’t it?
So often we foget to do just that, don’t we, Tammy? Our focus tends to be on our feet moving slow and how much farther we have to go, rather than seeing His arms reaching down to pull us up or hear His voice whispering encouragement to keep going. I love the thought of “feeling God’s love shine down on our faces” too.
Thank you, Anne! It may be a slow climb but it is preferable to persevere rather than camping out where we are. Though we never fully ‘arrive’ in this lifetime. It is the journey itself that makes and shapes us.
Yes, we are all broken people to one degree or another. When one limps another can support, offer strength and help to continue. That’s the privilege and responsibility of being a body of believers all making a journey of life and faith.
Thank you, Katie! I’m so pleased it resonated with you. Chris has a beautiful thing going on in sharing this space with others and encouraging us to share our stories, strategies and encouragement for the climb.
I think I love this the most because I get to share something so very different from what I would ever write, but it’s still in the same vein as my heart.
Oh my, I felt every word. I read “weak-kneed with indecision”, and I thought that is where I so often struggle when I am weighed down with the brokenness around me. I get stuck and discouraged. Love the reminder of our hope that God moves mountains and He brings us through the climb every time! Beautiful poem and post, Joy.
I’m not ashamed to say that I teared up a little the first time I read this. It connected with the hidden poet in me, and the limping follower of Jesus in me
Thank you, Laura. I really appreciate you sharing your responses here! Much of what I’ve written will be an experience common to many as we all have obstacles to overcome. God gives us hope and encouragement along the way, even if the mountain resists moving. So we can always rest in His provision and grace as we wend our weary way through life’s struggles and pain.
can certainly relate to the struggle of the climb. seemingly never-ending, falling into the trap that the top is what matters. not that finishing isn’t important but the end is never really the point, is it?
beautiful words, joy.
It’s hard to remember in this deadline-driven world that journeys might be what matters most in the end
amen to that, brother.
Yes, the struggle stands out for us, doesn’t it? We so easily forget the point of it all. Thanks very much for commenting and sharing, Tim!
Powerful yet delicatly woven with tenderness ~ love.
I was very touched by this writing today Joy. I have walked through the shadows of depression, and it continues to be an uphill climb. The shadows are always still there from the mountain, but your writing brought me reminders of our Saviours peace and Love!
For the God of the mountain is the God in the valley! I too rest within the rock, and it then gives me renewed strength to lace up my shoes and continue my climb.
It is writings like your, “Not at the Top” that I read while resting
“as I shelter a while in the Rock”
Blessings and prayers my friend.
Kathy Snow
Such powerful words from a good friend and a great writer, right?
Kathy, you exude grace and peace in your own writing. No-one would know you’re still struggling as you describe here. I’m touched by your openness and faith. God is indeed “God in the valley” as well as the mountaintop. I love the thought of pausing a while at the Rock, resting to gain breath and strength, lacing up our shoes with renewed purpose and climbing strong once more. Blessings and prayers to you too, my friend.
Love this Joy! Thanks for sharing your raw thoughts about your journey…one that mirrors so many of ours:-) Truly inspiring…
Oh, this is the good, rich stuff… So enjoying it. I have had many struggles, and it’s easy to forget them in this relatively easy time. Gratitude is what keeps me going.
Thank you for this post Joy! It’s exactly what I feel like at this time. I’m striving so hard but the road is so steep and I just feel so weary of keeping going. I pray that I find the rest in the Rock during these moments. May God richly bless you in return as you have blessed me today xx
Thank you, Lorna! My hope and prayer in sharing some of my journey is that others can read and connect it with their own. Our individual struggles may differ, but we are all on a journey toward wholeness and healing.
Thank you! Yes, I tend to write deep. So pleased you found it helpful, Cynthia. I love the important point you make, “Gratitude is what keeps me going” as that is key to victorious living in the midst of problems. Our focus tends to be on what God hasn’t done yet rather than what He has done. Remembering His goodness keeps our hearts thankful and expectant in the hope of seeing change to come.
Tanya, I am humbled and grateful that God has used these words to encourage your heart and that they have spoken to you at just the right time. I fully sympathise with your pain and how weary you feel. Keep looking up to God and leaning on the Rock. He will restore and renew you as you rest fully in Him. Our God is faithful. Blessings and prayers xx
DearJoy
Oh, we learn through suffering that although we are not able to overcome any of theme mountains, our Lord takes our hands and walk with us every single step of the way. Through our pain and exhaustion we learn not to look at the storms raging around us, but to keep our eyes fixed on our Beloved Lord Jesus. What a great post.
Much love XX
Mia
It is so very difficult to remember thee truths, isn’t it Mia?
Tanya, I will be praying for you to find strength and rest. Let me or Joy know if we can help in any other way
Chris, I have to say I so appreciate that you used the phrase “limping follower of Jesus”. I have seen that a lot in the past couple of weeks as I read devotions, etc. Sometimes we limp until God restores our strength to walk/run again. Ok, many times. Thankful we have redemption all the time.
Yes, Joy. Exactly. And hope is a beautiful thing. 🙂
One of the enduring figures in Scripture for me is Jacob. He tenaciously wrestled with an angel and received the blessing he desired. But he also got a limp. And that limp never went away. I feel like there is often a parallel for us in this narrative.
Mia, what you say is so true. We do indeed learn so much through our suffering in terms of great dependence on God’s grace and sustaining power. And it’s because “our Lord takes our hands and walks with us every single step of the way” that we can endure the dry and painful places. It is always the best course of action to “keep our eyes fixed on our Beloved Lord Jesus” rather than making “the storms raging around us” the focus of our attention.
Thank you for contributing your insightful thoughts here at a time when pain and exhaustion weigh particularly heavy for you. I really appreciate it, my friend. Blessings and love Xx
So true. I’ve thought about Jacob recently and listened to a sermon about wrestling with God. Maybe the limp is a reminder of how God blessed him in the midst of a struggle. First, we have to be willing to wrestle. Maybe?
I like that idea — we must engage with God in difficult scenarios and wrestle with him to get his full blessing. Plus, if Jacob was anything like me, he would have forgotten the favor of God poured into his life without the reminder of the limp.
While I am always careful about over-spiritualizing the Old Testament (because I think it stands on its own as a narrative without bringing allegorical thinking into play), this feels like a really good fit for my experience with God.
Maybe another big lesson is that the blessing of God exists in the midst of struggles. I tend to view blessing and difficulties as mutually exclusive.