This story is fiction. I wrote it based upon an idea I found on a Messianic website several years ago, which I can not find now. Even though I wrote this entire story myself, I would like to thank and recognize the one who came up with the idea of the mountain range. If you know the website, please email me at psalm112one[no-spam]@yahoo.com (remove the [no-spam] prior to sending) and I will get in touch with them. Thank you!
After having a hearty breakfast at the motel, I set out in my rented four-wheel drive with my camera, plenty of water and a bag of trail mix, ready for a day of photography that was sure to “wow” my editor back home in the smog. She had said she wanted some unique shots of the mountains, along with anything else that caught my eye. My decision to take a few pictures of any animals that might be roaming around was mostly for my own entertainment, but also perhaps to add to my “I deserve a raise” portfolio.
The drive was to take about an hour, but I began to notice about forty-five minutes into the trip that there was an enormous and beautiful mountain, covered in a multitude of fall colors. A few more minutes into the drive, I found a place to stop, got out my camera and just stood there a while, enjoying the majesty of the multi-colored mountain, which contrasted the clear, blue sky. As I contemplated the beauty of God’s creation, the thought struck me that there were no more mountains anywhere in sight. Apparently, this was the only one, which seemed quite weird considering I had heard so much about “the mountains.” The area was hilly all right, but mountainous? Where was the famous mountain range?
Would I have to get a map and travel even further to find more or was this the only mountain I would see on my mini adventure? And even if I could find more mountains, how long would the trip take? Days? I didn’t even want to consider such a long trip. And I was sure my editor would not be pleased to see that type of expense added to the budget.
I got back into my car, wondering why my travel agent had told me of “the mountains” rather than only one incredibly huge mountain. As beautiful as it was, with all of its picturesque fall foliage, I was sure my editor wanted to see more than one mountain in my pictures. So I hastened on, occasionally sipping water, and glancing at that mountain as I continued to drive along, wondering when I would find a place to get some helpful information.
About thirty minutes along on the winding road around the huge mountain, I saw something peaking from behind it. Could it be another one of those little hills? I kept driving. Then I saw it. There was another mountain, smaller but definitely a mountain, and almost as beautiful as the gigantic one.
I decided to stop again and take a few pictures. It was then that I noticed another mountain, peaking from behind the second one. This third mountain was slightly larger than the second, and just as beautiful as the largest mountain, which I had decided by then to nickname, “Mt. Everest, Jr.”
Back in the vehicle and traveling further along, I discovered yet another mountain. A few minutes later, there was another, and then another and another. I stopped several times along the road that wound not only around “Mt. Everest, Jr.,” but also around more and more mountains as I traveled along.
The further I drove along, the more mountains I found, each smaller than the first, but in all different sizes. Each mountain was uniquely beautiful, painted in fall colors by the Master Designer Himself. I was thrilled at my discovery! I had found the mountain range! The whole range was hidden behind that one gigantic, beautiful mountain! What a wonderful surprise!
I took lots of pictures of the mountain range, along with several close-ups of the plant life and even a few animals roaming on the mountains. I was sure my editor would be pleased.
After returning to work, and submitting the pictures to my editor, and adding a few to my portfolio, I continued to ponder this trip. I thought about how perspective affects more than photography. For those of us who are people of faith, perspective affects how we walk out our faith because it affects how we understand the Bible and how we view the world.
“Perspective is everything,” they say. Perhaps there is some truth to that.
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Much like the mountain range that seemed hidden behind the enormous mountain, where we are in our understanding of GOD’s Word affects how much we actually see. The huge mountain is beautiful and it is a part of the whole range, but if we stay on this side of the mountain, we will not be able to see the “whole picture.”
If we don’t continue to prayerfully study Scripture, how can we see the whole range? Our perspective will, unfortunately, remain the same, and our growth will be stagnant. There is nothing wrong with the huge mountain, for it is there with a purpose, but if we stand in the same place admiring that one mountain’s beauty and never get moving along to discover all the LORD has designed in that whole range, we will miss out on much of what He has for us.
On the contrary, if we are willing to move forward in our walk with Messiah, we will see more and more of what He has designed, in all its glorious beauty. We will still see the huge mountain. It remains there as wonderfully majestic as ever, but now we will see much, much more, all connected like the mountains are connected in the whole range.
Let’s humble ourselves to read and study His Word prayerfully on a daily basis, allowing His Word to get into our hearts and change our lives. If we do this, we will discover what is on the other side of that mountain. Let’s get moving!