You answer our prayers with amazing wonders
    and with awe-inspiring displays of power.
    You are the righteous God who helps us like a father.
    Everyone everywhere looks to you,
    for you are the confidence of all the earth,
    even to the farthest islands of the sea.
  What jaw-dropping, astounding power is yours!
    You are the mountain maker who sets them all in place.
  You muzzle the roar of the mighty seas
    and the rage of mobs with their noisy riots.
8O God, to the farthest corners of the planet
    people will stand in awe,
    startled and stunned by your signs and wonders.
    Sunrise brilliance and sunset beauty
    both take turns singing their songs of joy to you.
Psalm 65:5-8 TPT

The mountaintop vistas are breathtaking. The horizon is beyond reach but at the same time right there in sight. And the panoramic view provides a feeling of arrival, majesty, and accomplishment.

In the same glance, you look down upon the valley floor and secretly rejoice that you made it to the top. But with further introspection, you know that it was your time in the valley that brought you to the top.

Mountaintop vistas or valley floors. The choice is yours. Both serve a purpose and both are necessary on the road to becoming. Your journey is richer when you accept the breathtaking views as well as the limited perspective found when the way before you is uncertain.

Last week, I wrote on the road to becoming and explored the steps we take in unison with God. While God is always present along the way, it is the steps taken in community that shape us for the road ahead.

Any mountaintop victories I have experienced belong not only to me but also to God. The climb is never easy and is seldom accomplished alone. When we tire, the cheering of friends, family, and others keep us on track. My own experience has proved this time and time again.

But the landscape of community continually changes for me. It’s good, hard, messy, and challenging. God never fails to gift me with just the right people when needed, but the tension of fighting for the right people keeps me in the valley.

I hold my close relationships close and my family even closer. Any other community is a bonus. While I am in community, I find a strength that sustains and heals. But as I wrote above, God continues to grow me by changing what community looks like in my life.

I adore the view from the mountaintop. The feeling of reaching to touch the sky is one that never grows old. But I am not too naive to believe that making it to the top is the only pinnacle I ever want to reach.

For it is in the gaping valleys that the strengthening of my heart has undergone the deepest renovation. And my soul has cried out in desperation just to be heard. Even though we are never alone we pray for the desires of our heart to echo for others to hear.

So the choice is yours–mountaintop vistas or valley floors. God is in both. Life most definitely is better when we experience the view on top and down low.

For it is in the gaping valleys that the strengthening of my heart has undergone the deepest renovations. #TellHisStory Share on X

I’m walking the road to becoming and letting God grab my hand and show me the way. Will you join me?

Newsy Notes:

Next week, I have the honor of welcoming Linda Stoll to the blog as our second featured writer for Tell His Story. She is a regular member of the community and if you have not had the pleasure of reading her wisdom, head over to lindastoll.net and check her out.

#TellHisStory Link Up
 
Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you. This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters.
 
I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community. Add your own encouraging post through the link below. Spread some love by visiting your neighbor and leave your own encouragement. Add the #TellHisStory button to your post so others can join in on the fun. Click HERE to get the button.
 
Your story matters and the #TellHisStory link up continues because of you.

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