Reaching For Higher Ground

Laughter and joy, it permeates the air

We function best at sea level.

Do I journey upward, do I even dare?

Worldly pleasures all around,

Heartiness and merriment,

All is in control

When feet are planted on solid ground.

 A small group of us, we decided to climb,

Right from the get go some reverted to the side lines.

At first, all was fun but then we started to feel the aches,

Again, others dropped by the wayside,

No more where they willing to take.

The group became smaller and smaller in size.

Should I turn back or go forward?

This may only be for the wise!

Just a little bit longer,

Maybe soon I’ll turn back,

But stubbornness keeps me going

As the branches before me I whack.

I’m a novice,

This is something I’ve never ventured before

So I brought my Guide with me,

With Him at my side I feel more secure.

Sometimes He speaks in a way

I do not understand,

But He has a particular authority about Him

I know He’s high in command.

I look around and notice that besides me

Only one other person is at my side,

 I continue onward

As my Guide He continues to cheer.

What once looked easy

Now appears to be much harder,

But stubbornness propels me forward,

And I go on a little farther.

Now standing before me a big rock,

And my Guide;

I’ve committed to go forward

Yet my stomach churns, as I want to run and hide.

My Guide He encourages me

For He has great faith,

He tells me to think with confidence,

I have Him, I’m no longer a little waif.

I raised my hands up in awe of the Rock,

No longer surprised I’ve come this far,

No longer shocked.

I thought I was close but,

 He told me I still had further before I would reach,

Not yet empty of self,

 I got down on my knees and Him I beseeched.

The next day I had company,

Someone of like mind,

We journeyed forward together

And together we continued our climb.

We were getting ever closer to reaching,

To reaching our ultimate goal,

New heights, we kept climbing

As we waited that morning for the sun to unfold.

Today maybe the day when the pinnacle we reach,

My company joined in,

And we got down on our knees, and again we beseeched.

Alas, alas the summit was in sight,

Looking at the land below us

We had now reached soaring heights.

This is a peak that I wanted to gain,

But to do so, from so many things I needed to refrain.

In my spiritual life I had further to go,

On both levels much beauty garnered,

But tainted by cold and snow.

Seeking the Holy Spirit had led me on a desolate journey

Looking out at the beauty of the world below

 I was filled with a myriad of yearnings.

Lord, the cold is biting; it makes it hard to stand,

I will try reaching forth,

So that I may take Your invisible outstretched hand.

My foot keeps slipping; I feel that I may fall,

But You and the angels have filled my mind,

You continue to keep me completely enthralled.

Sometimes my thoughts stray again

And I momentarily stumble,

Dear Lord, my prayer is that

You would ever keep me humble.

As I’ve now stood here for a while

I notice the peak is not as pointy as viewed from below,

There is much space for many to stand,

It has a large plateau.

Now that I’m here, dear Lord, what do I do?

As I look upward I see

There is absolutely nothing,

Standing between me and You.

I look upward and there is blue sky above.

Where are You Lord?

I wish I could see behind the veil,

Glimpsing more and more of Your sweet love.

 

Last night in a dream as I stood atop the mountain,

Looking across to the other terrain,

I saw a plot of land,

It was sectioned off in many squares,

It was most magnificent and grand.

I wondered what the garden was for,

Then I realized it was a communal plot,

With all the chattering around me,

I knew this was the garden for Your lot.

I saw a little leopard, it was lying peacefully

At my feet,

Then I saw it was lying beside a cat,

All was peaceful and all was meek.

Other people have joined me on this plateau,

We are all like minded, as our love for You

We easily show.

Life up here has left the body weak,

But for the lot of us, it’s You

That we continually seek.

We are especially elated

As more and more company arrives,

For Your goodness is being shown,

You are most certainly well and You are Alive. 

This is an experience because it is how I perceive my journey with Jehovah, whether if it’s in my daily consciousness or in my night time dreaming.

This poem was also written many years ago. It was written at the time when I took a step out into the unknown. It was at the time I decided to truly give my heart to an unseen God, and to step out by faith and to blindly follow Him. It was and still is to this day like climbing a mountain, and it is a very difficult but very rewarding undertaking. What I find in following Jesus is that I’m constantly taken from level to level. The quicker I learn a lesson the quicker I can move on to another level, but as difficult as it is, it is nice to know that my Savior is always at my side.