Tiny Dot on a Mountain
In the age-old question of beach or mountains, I usually say I’m a beach fan. That is, until my family stayed in a friend's condo on Berke Mountain in Vermont for a long weekend this summer. The views and scenery are spectacular.
We got a firsthand experience of purple mountains majesty above the fruited plain and know why they put those lyrics in America the Beautiful. Everywhere you turn there is something incredible to see. Mountains, lakes, waterfalls, fields of wildflowers.
We hiked and by boys (even college-aged) stopped to point out tons of baby toads, salamanders, frogs, snails, bugs, and spiders. The duff layer of the forest floor was teeming with tiny life. There’s also larger animal life like black bears, mountain lions, bobcats and moose, but I was happy not to run into any of those.
My one son hiked ahead and even though we picked up the pace, he’d disappeared from my line of sight. I called to him but didn’t get an answer. The mom in me started to panic. One side of the path steeply dropped off, and I scanned the ravine in case he’d tripped and fallen. My mind went to all of the large animals mentioned above and prayed he wouldn’t encounter any of them. I’m imagining him taking the wrong path and getting lost, and now this beautiful majestic mountain has become a nightmare as I’m thinking of rescue teams scouring it.
My mind can turn dark fast, but that was when another tiny toad the size of the tip of my pinky finger hopped across the path. The God who created the universe, who made the massive mountain we stood on, also made that toad and knew exactly where that toad was at that exact moment. According to Matthew 10:29 not one sparrow falls to the ground with out the Father knowing it.
As we reached the bottom of the mountain, my son strolled up a different path with a big smile and without a care. I thanked God for his protection and reminded my son of why we don’t go hiking alone.
God knows where we are. We may feel adrift, lost, left in the dark, but God not only has our GPS coordinates, He’s right there beside us whispering to us the way to go.
Isaiah 40:26 says it best:
“Look up into the heavens.
Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
not a single one is missing.”
Social media was meant to connect people, but it’s created a FOMO crisis—the fear of missing out. Sometimes we can feel unknown, forgotten, unimportant but the God who established the mountains and who scooped out the vast ocean calls you by name.
Abram was wannabe dad but instead became an old man wandering in the desert, but God spoke to him. He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, meaning father of a multitude, and told him to look at the grains of sand and the stars in the sky as an example of how numerous his descents would be.
Jacob was a silver-tongued trickster, who convinced his brother to give up his birthright and lied to receive his brother’s blessing. He had to skip town until his brother’s anger cooled and ended up being tricked by his uncle into marrying the wrong sister and getting extra years of free labor. God approached Jacob on his way back to his birth home, allowing Jacob to wrestle with him. He then changed Jacob’s name to Israel.
Simon was one of Jesus disciples who had tendency to get excited only to end up figuratively putting his foot in his mouth. Yet, Jesus changed his name to Peter and told him, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18 NIV)
The God who placed the stars in the sky, sees you. The One who spoke the universe into being, not only knows your name, He also calls you “my son” and “my daughter.” The Lord who directs the wind and the waves speaks purpose into your life, because you are His precious and incredible creation.