Ain't No Mountain High Enough…

Notwithstanding the obvious grammar error, this song just rattles my bones to the core lately. I sing it loud and proud every single time I watch Remember the Titans. Every. Single. Time. "Ain't no mountain high enough, ain't no valley low enough…"

I'm cutting to the chase here. You know that, "I know I need to do this (insert YOUR task here) and just when I step out, something stops me dead in my tracks and life starts throwing junk at me from every side so I retreat" feeling? If I'm the only one, feel free to skip the rest and go directly to the end. If not, allow me to officially invite you into my special club. We don't discriminate on membership. Come one and all. Bring finger food and we shall meet and share our woes. I may be the only member, which means more snacks for me. If not, I've got to get my act together and get this club up and running.

Allow me to indulge and share a few of mine. Just to make sure you know you aren't alone. At all. Here goes. It's not pretty, people. I'm a closet "read a bunch of books at the same time" person. Please stop cringing. I know it's not normal. It works for me, which speaks volumes about my brain. That's another post entirely. Here's the deal, I REALLY need to just finish the "bring your cares to Jesus, stop worrying, be the woman that God intended you to be" books and get moving. I'm currently smack dab in the middle of The Best Yes, by Lysa TerKeurst, Every Bitter Thing is Sweet, by Sara Hagerty, and a few pages shy of finishing Lisa Harper's, Overextended, (That's ironic). Oh. My. Goodness. It's ALL I can do to not log into Amazon Prime and order Jen Hatmaker's new book this very second. These are good books. Awesome, actually. But mercy, they can't replace what I really should be doing. Putting my faith into action. Standing up for what is right. Fighting for the helpless. Stepping out when I've no glimpse if there's really anything on which to land. Use my mourning for good and my grief for trusting in someone so much bigger than I. Being a wife that's not naggy (my word) and a mom that chooses the hills worth dying on and lets the other pass by as lessons learned. Oh, I pray my legacy is bigger than a huge pile of books with dog-eared pages on my end table. "Ain't no mountain high enough…" to keep me from doing the right thing.

My ego can only take so much, so I'm going to stop at one more. I've a legal pad full.  After sending Dennis off for 15 trips to Togo, FIFTEEEEENNNN, I am still shocked when life rears its ugly head and starts making me wonder what will happen when he's gone. Let me tell you. EVERY time he leaves, appliances break, children are in car wrecks, cars stall on hiways, people ask me "Dennis" questions that I've no clue how to answer. Because, well, he's the question answerer. That's just what he does. People get sick, job junk kicks in. You name it, it's happened. So am I shocked that five days before leaving last week, we are in the Emergency Room with this weird heart thing he's got?? At 3:30 am, I'm sitting bedside (that's what I do best…) thinking, "You absolutely are NOT going to an African village where there's no clean water, let alone the medicine you need to make you stop feeling like you're having a heart attack. No. A million times, no." At the same time, he's saying, "So, I'm leaving the country on Thursday, is that problem? Can I just take some Aleve or something?" Oh, Lord Jesus, come quickly. I'm going to take this man out. And just like that, I'm reminded that first, I'm calling this what this really is. When there's a good thing going, the enemy will do anything it can to stop it. Secondly, telling Dennis that I don't want him going would be like telling my 6-year old that we're skipping Christmas. Third, who am I to stop a plan designed long before now by the one who's orchestrating all the cool stuff there?? I was certainly accepting defeat and letting every mountain and valley get in our way. Sigh. Suffice it to say, I could most likely be voted president of the club. If that meant the one with the most issues.

As I preach to the choir, I'm reminded of one of my all-time favorite go-to verses when, quite frankly, I'm tired of the junk. Of the mediocrity I settle for. Of the tepid faith that is convenient only when life is lovely. It's time to put the books away, after finishing them first. Look them up. They are GOOD. Trust in a God bigger than I am. He has my back. And yours. Surround yourself with people who help you remember. I've got them. And we laugh, commiserate, shake our heads, and watch life do its thing. I'm grateful for you.  So you know, I just searched YouTube and sang right along with Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Nothing better.

"So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith." Galatians 6:9-10