"Mountain" | Reflection by Patricia Thurston

I love climbing mountains and hills, from gentle strolls to strenuous hikes. I welcome the physical challenges that come with uneven, sometimes uncertain, terrain. When I get to the peak, the new view gives me a charge. Towns look tiny, and the hawks look bigger. The places are sometimes quite difficult to get to and I appreciate God’s call to me, to make the effort. I try to bring those wilderness experiences into my regular life. Life is an uncertain and dangerous trail. I am always having to look for the trail markers and sometimes they seem few and far between. I look to God’s presence here in the lowlands for the kind of discernment and wisdom many have received from a mountaintop. As a follower of Jesus, I believe God calls us to live in love and reconciliation. We are invited to find and follow the trail and make our way to the mountaintop, to see each other clearly as beloved and cherished children in God’s creation.