There is one topic you can count on in church or conversations with other Christians..it’s the whole “mountain top vs. valley” subject.  You know what I mean..”that was a mountain top experience!!” from someone coming back from a retreat, conference, etc.  Or there is the “she’s in such a deep valley right now”.  Or the overused sermon cliche, “mountain tops are wonderful, but God speaks clearest in the valleys”.  All of these are true, and valid reference points for things going on in spiritual lives, or for things we are facing.

HOWEVER!  We have overlooked a major thought in these ideas.  Unless you are in a helicopter, you aren’t instantly transported from the valley straight up to the top or vice versa!  There’s an awful lot of traveling in between, and I believe we are missing a great truth in blipping over that, both in our lives and in our testimonies.  We all KNOW life is not just about one extreme or the other, we just don’t acknowledge it very much.  After all, when’s the last time you heard someone step up to the microphone in a service and said “I just want to PRAISE God tonight because I am 2/3 of th way to the mountain top!”  Or heard someone else say “I’m sliding towards that valley and I can’t wait to get to the bottom to hear God better!”  The answer is not too often, or never.  And that’s a shame.

Robert and I are currently in a state park in the foothills of Alabama.  That’s right, I said foothills..because they are!  The altitude at the top is around 2,400 feet above sea level.  Now Robert and I have lived beside the biggest mountains, the Colorado Rockies, where the average altitude is 11,000-14,000…those are mountains!  And we love going tp the Blue Ridge mountains in our state, whose tallest mountain is 6,300 feet above sea level.  So we know mountains by personal experience.  

And guess what??  It doesn’t matter which size you are on top of..the scenery is always spectacular!  You see, even the foothill view elevates you enough to give you a better view of the world, and it’s usually breathtaking.  Even at the top of the foothills here, Robert can look doen at a lake that looks so far away, and tell me that 30 minutes we were driving right past it!  Really??  I am fascinated by that ability to see exactly where I have just been, and look up to see there’s even still just a bit higher I can go.  So we stop, and relax, and admire the view from where we are.  In spiritual terms, those foothill views represent breaking a habit..or witnessing to a friend..or finally having your quiet time regularly.  These are important, and should be noted!  Not to stop climbing, or think  you have arrived, but to acknowledge success and relax for a moment.

The same is true for the valley.  The distance from the top of the foothill we are on is 2,400 feet.  In spiritual terms, that’s equivalent to a small setback.  A difficult job, or stress at work, a finacial setback, or maybe a relapse into a sin.  The key here is looking up, always.  But the other key is this:  measure that valley!  You may only be really looking at having to climb a spiritual foothill..not a mountain!!  I know have several friends who have lost family members..that is a valley.  I also have a friend losing the battle with cancer..big valley too.  So when in a fairly shallow valley, it is ALWAYS appropriate to take stock, and acknowledge where you ate, and where you could be.

Everyone praises the one who has mountain top or valley faith.  But the real warriors, the real victory, comes in the foothills!!  So gather up your foothill faith and march on!