Fall has come and gone and I can feel my soul breathe a sigh of relief. I’ve been enamored with this season for as long as I can remember, but as I grow older I also experience a more intense feeling of relief as summer ends and cooler winds blow in.
Last summer was brutal for me in many ways. It came with really high highs and really low lows. I spent weeks chipping away at my to-do lists and the weekends logging many hours of travel by car and plane to celebrate three beautiful women in my life as they married their forever loves.
Each week seemed to begin fuller than the last and I found myself on the brink of not being able to move forward any longer. Busy was about to break me.
One of my favorite parts of summer coming to a close each year is celebrating the anniversary of marrying my husband. This year, he surprised me with a weekend trip to the mountains. As the weekend dawned, we packed up and drove toward the Smoky Mountains.
I didn’t know this trip was exactly what my spirit needed until we got there. As soon as I caught the first glimpse of the mountains, I could feel myself let go of the burden I had been carrying.
The mountains have always drawn me closer to the Lord – something about their majesty reminds me who I am and whose I am. We belong to the creator of the universe, the one who lifted the mountains from the earth and handcrafted each of us in His image.
“The mountains shall bring peace to the people..”
Psalm 72:3
The symbolism of the mountains is a beautiful reminder of the journey we are on. There will forever be peaks, valleys and the in between but the challenges don’t have to take away from the beauty.
A New Mountain
I remember what it feels like to summit after a long climb, breathe a sigh of relief and feel a rush of pride for the accomplishment. Fresh behind that memory is the sharp reminder of what it feels like to find yourself standing at the bottom again. Right now, I feel like I’m standing at the base of a new mountain contemplating the next journey. I’m weary and a little broken, but I know I am still capable of finding my way back to the top.
[easy-tweet tweet=”More than anything, I know that the Lord journeys with me, regardless of where I find myself in life.” user=”@JaymeHull” hashtags=”#journey”]More than anything, I know that the Lord journeys with me, regardless of where I find myself in life. He walks next to me on the steep inclines, He catches me when I stumble and He celebrates each and every summit.
Here’s to the turn of a new season and holding tight to the peace of the Father.
