Lesson 10
View from the Mountain
When we discover new and life-altering truths, we are like pioneers standing on a mountain ridge looking at a new beginning. In the cool, crisp morning air, we can see forever. Then, our gaze slowly and finally settles on a beautiful valley. The vivid colors of the grass and lakes and the framing horizons of sky and mountain peaks are just breathtaking. In that golden moment, our heart says, "Yes. That's it! That's where I want to spend the rest of my life." We can hardly wait to get down there and go to work building our future. Our heart almost explodes as we imagine breaking the sod, planting crops, building a house and joining with other like-minded people in creating a new community. We are seized by "Sometimes a Great Notion.”
We finally arrive in that valley and begin to carve out that new life. At first, it's romantic and exciting, but after a while reality sets in. We discover that it's too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Mosquitoes, crickets and rattlesnakes can make life difficult. When we initially saw the gorgeous and lush green meadow from the mountain top, we didn't realize that much of the meadow was filled with weeds. At that point, the faint-hearted will become discouraged and begin gazing at the next mountain range. They end up forsaking the valley in pursuit of another dream. Too many remain wanderers in life, drifters away from the dream and always preoccupied by new mountain ridges.
For example, some people are like that regarding their own marriage. They begin in great excitement, romance and passion. But when they get into the hard work and heavy lifting of building a life with another person, they get discouraged and