Right near the runway at the airport in Kodiak, Alaska is a mountain. Having come from Florida, this was completely out of my mental context as there are no mountains in my home state. Each and every time we drove past the airport going to and from the base to our house we would pass the mountain. For over a year my desire to climb that mountain grew and grew until one Saturday I blurted out that I had to climb it. I just could not stand going past it any more without conquering it. I could see my parents wondering where that comment came from but smiling none the less. So I gathered a few of my Boy Scout friends and one Saturday we tackled what seemed to be a large peak to our 12 and 13 year old minds.
I think there was a well worn path to the top because of its accessibility to the highway and proximity to both towns’ people and to those stationed on the base. Johnny, Dick, our scout leader, and I began our trek up the path on a particularly nice day. As we climbed I noticed the air getting cooler and the wind picking up. So much so, that I began to be concerned about my stability, especially where some of the passages were narrow and the drop was steep. As we drew closer to the top, my anxiety increased, but having the peak within sight kept us all going. When we reached the top, we did not stay long because the wind was so strong and there was still a great deal of snow and ice. Our trek down was actually scarier than the trip up because we were always looking down. However, God placed a unique illustration in front of me about ¼ of the way down. On one of the cliffs, with no visible soil grew a beautiful evergreen, seemingly right out of a rock. It was between 15 – 20 feet tall. I marveled at it for a moment and suddenly regained my composure for the remainder of the trip down.
Over 50 years later, I recalled that event when my wife was revamping our website and she came upon a picture of an old rusty lock with a small tree growing out of it. There was an instant correlation between the two trees and I finally realized why I had gained peace that day on my first mountain climbing experience. Subconsciously God was telling me that despite the circumstances, which at times may seem overwhelming, there is stability in Him – the rock of my salvation. (Psalm 62:2, 6, 95:1) What the world may find as shaky footing, little foundation, or a lack of stability is compensated for by the invisible hand that holds us permanently with a promise of never being yanked out of that security (John 10:28). Even though I was too young to understand the peace that came over me at that time, I get it now and it is another one of those things that I can look back to, over my life when He has been faithful, even when I was not.
I wish we all could see the long arms of the Lord, His Spirit and His angels that protect us, cover us and give us peace during times of trouble. Yet even with that vision, would we not discount it later in life as an illusion? Just because we cannot see them, does not mean they are not there. It is, indeed, our faith that keeps us whole.
Love Dad