Singing from the Mountaintop

Lately, I have found myself experiencing life in a different way than I ever have before. For As long as I can remember, in the moments when I closed my eyes and drew near to God, the first words I spoke were pleas for help. My praise would rise, but it rose from a broken heart, begging for healing and seeking relief by soaking up the preciousness of the presence of God. When I thanked God, I so often was thanking Him for pain, trials, and battles that crushed me and brought me to my knees at His feet. For so long, I have been learning how to praise through pain, how to see God through driving rain, and how to lay my ever-heavy burdens at the foot of the cross. Although my life still has its pain and 'less than ideal' situations, circumstantially speaking, my life is very good right now. Every area I can think of is flooded with peace. When people ask how I am, I can say “Great!” with no buts or howevers. When I close my eyes and behold my Savior recently, I often find that all I can think to say is, “Thank you, Father. Thank you.” Moment after moment each day is laced with so much beauty I can hardly breathe. I wake up...and I smile. At first, I struggled with so much goodness in my life. I felt as if I wasn't growing. But more and more, I see how God continues to grow me, just in different ways than before. When I am overwhelmed by blessing, I am able to better focus on others. I am learning to better pray and reach out to those around me, rather than constantly only praying for my own needs and hurts. I am learning to pursue God, even when it doesn't feel that I need to as badly. Rather than seeking Him out of desperation, I find myself seeking Him because I love Him, I'm amazed by Him, I enjoy being with Him, and I want to be more like Him. I love His beauty and desire to soak it up! I am simply enjoying Him. It is delightful beyond words to trace His large, gracious hand of blessing within every area of my life. Much of Christian literature, help, counsel, etc is focused on how followers of Christ should react and work through the storms of life. It is so true that there is great blessing in tribulation. Yes, there is much growth and beauty in the valley. However, I am learning that the mountaintop is a pretty breath-takingly gorgeous place to be as well! The view is different, the growth is a different variety, and the songs my heart sing are of a slightly different tune. But whether my praise rises from the valley or the mountaintop, I proclaim that God is so good. This life He has given, no matter where we are within it, is incredibly beautiful.