Aint no mountain high enough

   A few years ago, I took a trip to Colorado. I must say, it's one of my favorite states to visit. Being born and raised in Illinois - the most boring state in the country when it comes to natural scenery, with the exception of Iowa......or Indiana......or Nebraska - I've always been amazed at the natural beauty of that state. Every twist and turn of the many mountain roads seems to open up a new view, each one being more beautiful than the last.
   I remember many times when I literally pulled over, stopped my car, and got out to take a long look at the landscape, finding myself completely in awe of what my eyes were taking in. It was at those times when I truly understood the words: "Of purple mountain's majesty" in "America the Beautiful."
   As I was sitting in my living room with a cup of coffee the other day, I began to think about how any snapshot we might see of that beautiful scenery could be compared to our lives in a few different ways. We all have our mountains and valleys, don't we? We've all experienced those times when we felt like we were on top of the world, and we've all experienced times when we felt as though we were in some deep, dark valley with no hope of getting back to the mountaintop. We've seen those times through the experiences we've faced. Maybe we've accomplished something incredible, or failed miserably, leading us to those mountaintops or valleys.
    On a more personal note, we all have our own mountians and valleys in our hearts and minds. Because of where we've been and what we've experienced, we might tend to believe that it would be impossible for us climb a mountain placed before us. We look up at the size of the mountain and think there's no way, it's just too much. Or we might feel as though we've spent so much time in the valley, we should just remain there. After all, it's comfortable there, and if that's where we are, nobody will ask us to put forth the kind of effort it would take to pick ourselves up and climb that mountain.
   Within our relationship with God, we can once again see these mountains and valleys. Maybe we can't see them, but He does. Maybe we have mountains we've placed in our hearts and minds that keep Him from working in our lives the way we should be allowing Him to. Or maybe we have placed valleys there when we believe that we're not worthy, that we could never be used by Him. We're just not good enough, or He just doesn't care enough about us.
   What brought this to my mind was reading Isaiah 40:3

"A voice is calling, "Clear a way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God."

   I have read this verse, as well as a few others which said similar things, and I've always wondered what they meant. I've been inspired to try to do this without fully understanding how. The funny thing is that when I've thought about those verses and tried to make it happen, I've always done so with the perspective of looking outside of myself. I've done so by looking at the world around me and asking where I might be asked to straighten something out, or make something smooth or right. What never occured to me was that I needed to take this approach on the inside.
   You see, I have mountains and valleys in my own heart and mind that prevent me from fully trusting God as He works in my life.
   Steve spoke yesterday about "Total surrender." Giving God all of our issues, cares, concerns, hopes, and dreams, and then trusting Him with where He's leading us through the various trials in our lives. Sure, God could just step in and wipe all of those mountains and valleys away with one swipe of His hand. But if He did, what would we learn about ourselves in the process? What would we learn about Him?
   If we truly "Clear a way in the wilderness of our lives for the Lord," He might place us in the valley for awhile as we wait upon Him, but when we once again find ourselves on the mountaintop, it will be because He placed us there. I, for one, can't think of a more beautiful place to be.