Mountains

Our Mt Barker Home

Even before Sam and I even noticed each other I had a dream about him.

About us.

We were climbing mountains.

This dream meant that Sam was in my mind for the following few days and eventually I decided to text him and tell him he was in my dreams.

Less than one year later we were married.

So the Lord gave me a look from the birds eye, a vision into the future, I believe into what we would be doing in life together.

Climbing, scaling and conquering mountains. (Metaphorically- for sure, but physically well who knows!)

The irony of this is that ever since Sam and I started dating that two weeks later, God no longer gave us this broad sweeping vision of how our life will look from afar, but instead only allowed us to see a few steps ahead at a time. It’s as though we were all of a sudden zoomed into our present existence and encouraged not to look beyond, not to over-plan, but to just listen, to feel that creative movement of the spirit that ushers us forward into the unknown.

Leading us in the spotlight of the present, our future paths are of complete mystery to us and often Sam and I have had no idea where we will be in a few months or weeks. Whether we would be working, where our meals would come from or who would live with us...it has felt very sporadic, but exciting because we knew really... we could be lead anywhere.

But for this I have learnt that there must be a trust in the One who is holding our hands and is guiding us.

A trust in the One who knows the way.

As a friend pointed out to me this evening, the bible reads ‘They word is a lamp unto they feet’ – and that is such a beautiful and true representation of how God leads Sam and I... a flickering light around our feet, guiding our every step, each one important in itself but where its leading and the places we will visit and all we will experience and learn and give and grow on this journey are exactly as God would have intended. We don’t need to see exactly what’s around the corner and we definitely do not need to worry, as we are held and we are lead.

However this dream I had of scaling mountains, this calling to adventure and mystery is a vague guide of where we are headed and it reminds us that we aren't just walking willy-nilly into a great expanse of nothingness with a random colliding of cells and atoms... but that we are being lead with purpose and with an expected joy that we will arrive exactly where we are meant to be.

Sam and I are at a bit of a cross roads at present.

We have been living in a great little spot called Mt Barker. It has been a refuge and place of rest for us after our time spent in Germany.

In a few week s we must leave this place.

Whilst praying we were lead to the following verses in Deuteronomy.

“You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill countries...into the foothills.”

This was such an encouragement for us as we were leaving an actual mountain (well a teeny tiny mountain) Mt Barker and metaphorically we were on a new journey, headed once again into the unknown, surely to embark on a new adventure. We are also seeking to live and will be living in what is known as the foothills of Adelaide.

You may scoff and laugh and think we are romantic and we read too much into things, but without a doubt, this was confirmation for us that these next few steps were the right thing for us, where we were meant to be going. These words were the light upon our feet.

Life is anything but predictable, and anyone who believes they have control over it only has to turn on the TV to see how much we are at the whim of so many forces. We are all flailing in the wind but for the grace of the one who pulls us down to an unshaken ground.

 So I’ve been learning to take what comes even if that is so not how I envisioned it to be and not to be overly surprised when God provides right at the last minute (as he always seems to do) or not to expect things to be as I think because they hardly ever are. And Thank God for that, because they are usually so much better!..and definitely the best for me, the best for us.

It’s exciting, and it’s scary, and to some I’m sure it seems irresponsible and idealistic, but it’s the way in which God is leading us at the moment and that is what matters.  

Sometimes I imagine myself as an old lady, looking back and mapping out our journeys, making a painting of our lives, writing the story of all the paths we’ve taken and smiling knowingly...seeing just how far we have come. I imagine that in my elderly wisdom I will be able to see the way in which God has lead us, with a red ball of wool up the mountains, through the traumas, the joys and the pitfalls and everyday sorrow and fullness , leading us back home, into ourselves and into him.

That would be grand...

But right now I will take each day, each step as a blessing and aim to run with abandonment into a future that is secure. Whether I make it to be that old lady or not doesn’t really matter. Because I know with each step that I am headed home.