Mountains and Valleys
Mountains are something. I remember going through the Western United States in 1994 via a family vacation. I remember how flat the plains were... I remember what the mountains looked like in the distance...sooooo beautiful. However, I can also remember the trek up the mountain, being on top, and then the subsequent journey back down again. Sometimes you were going uphill when it seemed you were going downhill and vice versa. I love the mountains. The scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
I write today on mountains and valleys, because it seems that I am experiencing one now. What I thought was a trek down the mountain was actually a trek up and what I thought was a trek up the mountain is actually a trek down to a valley. Mountain top experiences are fantastic. We're close to God...we're on our game, doing the very things that we've been called to. But then comes the valley...perhaps the season has changed...perhaps we have something new to learn...something new to venture for. Not that our calling has changed, but just being clarified a bit.
We are continually being refined by God. Continually being clarified...defined...who we are in Christ. I relate this to a process called clarifying butter (Sorry, it's the chef in me...).
First, you take a few 1 pound blocks of butter...depending on how much you need. Usually for the kitchens needs it was between 10 and 50 pounds of butter. Take the butter and stick it in the appropriate size pan. Turn the heat on, but keep it low, otherwise it'll burn. Burnt butter stinks...literally. While the butter is melting, the three parts are separating out. The butter will melt and simmer until the three are completely separated. You will have a nasty looking foam on top. That gets skimmed off. The next layer is the yellowish liquid you usually see on the table top with Lobster or Crab Legs at your favorite seafood restaurant. That's the clarified butter. But as you are skimming the middle layer out, you can only go down so far before you get to the cream left on bottom. The unwanted parts are discarded, and the golden jewel you have left is used for a multitude of purposes.
Mountains and valleys are the same way. They have a way of clarifying us...refining us...filtering us...defining us...showing us who we really are intended to be in Christ. I have a long way to go. I am not perfected yet. That will only happen on the other side. But as long as I am here on Earth, I will travel through the mountain peaks and valley lows, being further clarified and perfected along the way...having the ability to be used by God for a multitude of purposes. I don't know how long the season is supposed to last, but what I do know is that I am supposed to be learning something. I am confident that as time passes, that list will continue to grow. Until then, I look to my Savior, Christ, for my support, strength and the courage to continue. Is it a mountain or a valley? Who knows for sure? God. And that's all that matters. Our job is to follow. And that's what I intend to do. The question I ask you is this: will you follow God anywhere????
I write today on mountains and valleys, because it seems that I am experiencing one now. What I thought was a trek down the mountain was actually a trek up and what I thought was a trek up the mountain is actually a trek down to a valley. Mountain top experiences are fantastic. We're close to God...we're on our game, doing the very things that we've been called to. But then comes the valley...perhaps the season has changed...perhaps we have something new to learn...something new to venture for. Not that our calling has changed, but just being clarified a bit.
We are continually being refined by God. Continually being clarified...defined...who we are in Christ. I relate this to a process called clarifying butter (Sorry, it's the chef in me...).
First, you take a few 1 pound blocks of butter...depending on how much you need. Usually for the kitchens needs it was between 10 and 50 pounds of butter. Take the butter and stick it in the appropriate size pan. Turn the heat on, but keep it low, otherwise it'll burn. Burnt butter stinks...literally. While the butter is melting, the three parts are separating out. The butter will melt and simmer until the three are completely separated. You will have a nasty looking foam on top. That gets skimmed off. The next layer is the yellowish liquid you usually see on the table top with Lobster or Crab Legs at your favorite seafood restaurant. That's the clarified butter. But as you are skimming the middle layer out, you can only go down so far before you get to the cream left on bottom. The unwanted parts are discarded, and the golden jewel you have left is used for a multitude of purposes.
Mountains and valleys are the same way. They have a way of clarifying us...refining us...filtering us...defining us...showing us who we really are intended to be in Christ. I have a long way to go. I am not perfected yet. That will only happen on the other side. But as long as I am here on Earth, I will travel through the mountain peaks and valley lows, being further clarified and perfected along the way...having the ability to be used by God for a multitude of purposes. I don't know how long the season is supposed to last, but what I do know is that I am supposed to be learning something. I am confident that as time passes, that list will continue to grow. Until then, I look to my Savior, Christ, for my support, strength and the courage to continue. Is it a mountain or a valley? Who knows for sure? God. And that's all that matters. Our job is to follow. And that's what I intend to do. The question I ask you is this: will you follow God anywhere????
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