WHAT exactly do you think is a mountain top experience? Yes, it’s the exhilarating feeling of standing on the peak of a mountain, a feeling of victory, of adrenalin rushing in after a long, tedious climb, and finally the reaching of the pinnacle. What a great feeling! You are on top of the world! And wouldn’t we do anything in our lives to want to stay on top and not come down? Wouldn’t we love to exist in this feeling of absolute euphoria?
We all would, wouldn’t we, but we can’t. We have to come down. Our lives are in the valley below. In the ordinary, the common, the mundane, where every once in a while, we remember that feeling on top of the mountain and it helps us tackle the problems of the valley below!
In the Holy Scriptures the disciples of Christ went through a similar experience: Peter, James and John, went up with Jesus to the mountain top to pray, there they went through an exhilarating experience, for on the mountain top, Moses and Elijah, came down from heaven to be with them. For Peter it must have been a divine moment, beyond anything he could comprehend, far beyond his wildest imagination. “This is it,” he must have thought to himself, and he turned to Jesus and said, ““Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters!”
He didn’t want to leave the mountain top moment. He wanted to live in ecstasy for the rest of his life; but that is not what these moments are for. We have to go back to the valley of reality, face people, stand against situations, smile at challenges, walk into areas of danger and risk, and all along we draw courage and sustenance from those moments on top of the peak. Some of our mountain top moments could be a wonderful holiday with family, or an evening with close friends who love us. You want to remain there, enclosed and embraced in friendship, fellowship and love.
But the evening comes to an end, the holiday too, and you have to face the next day of problems, but dear friend that love you felt, that depth of togetherness will help you through difficult days. Not just carry you through, but help you take a tough stand and win against adversity and challenges, finally reaching your goal! Welcome these mountain top experiences, whether it is being filled with the presence of God, or the love of family, or both, but go back to the valley smiling, with those treasured moments in your heart and mind, and win..!
