In today’s entry, I appreciate the focus on the strength we sense from mountains. The rolling hills of Pennsylvania beckoned to me when I was college shopping and visited Elizabethtown. This area seemed mountainous to me, as I was from flat Delaware, a great state in which to learn to ride the bicycle. There is something majestic about a peaked horizon.
In today’s Bible verses, though, another image stood out to me. Psalm 121, verses 5-6 state, “The Lord is your shade. . . . the sun will not harm you by day.” While I’ve never been to the Holy Land, every Bible movie I’ve ever seen takes place in desert areas. What a powerful impact these verses must have created for the readers of the day in that locale! Shade in the daytime of the hot desert sun would offer immediate physical relief, prevent uncomfortable sunburnt skin, and even forestall life-threatening sun stroke and dehydration. God’s spirit in us is like SPF for our souls!
In what ways do you find nature reminding you of God’s presence and protection?
Opposite to you Ellen, I grew up in the south west of France. Every morning I opened the shutters to find the majestic snow-capped Pyrenees in front of me. Mountains are for me the representation of God's power, and when going to the mountains (Pyrenees or Alps) I always felt very small (making me even smaller than my 4'11"...) compared to the beauty displayed, not only rocks but forests of fir trees, plants, flowers, mountain streams etc. Breathing the mountain fresh air was also regenerating, clearing my mind, and feeling closer to God.