Saturday, March 28, 2009

Mountain Trailways 2

My elementary & high school memories involve many travel experiences. We lived in Florida, & routinely drove the I-24 mountain corridor between Chattanooga & Nashville, TN. en route to vacations with relatives. The steep-winding road ventured below the colossal train overpass, above the blue rivers & green valleys, & through the cut-rock mountain-top. Then, as we descended with ears popping, we scanned the interior cliffs for a view of a waterfall.


That area is now covered with concrete & guarded by a retaining wall; but in the 70’s & 80’s, it was our favorite place to pull-over & take a break. A waterfall near the tops of mountains was a thing of dreams…even more captivating than those found in the valleys. The power of a mountain torrent, the mystery of its surrounding crags & caves, the breathless-beauty & shocking cold of these natural wonders left an unmistakable mark on my impressionable-youthful memory.


From my earliest winters sword fighting my brothers with icicles there, through the rock-collecting & photo stages, up to recent stops to awaken myself by splashing the freezing flow on my face; those streams & falls have provided much needed refreshing.


Ps.110:7 “He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore, shall he lift up the head.”


Amy Carmichael once journaled, “We think of our Lord as Saviour, Shepherd, Master, Guide & King, but have you ever thought of HIM as a Mountaineer? The word in Ps.110:7 should be translated “torrent.” A mountain torrent flows down a mountain, & that means the one who drinks of it is climbing the mountain.”


Kay’s note is: “He shall not faint in the long & weary conflict. As he journeys on, he drinks of a wayside mountain torrent –the river of truth & righteousness -& so advances on his career of victory.”


The 22nd Canon of the Second Council of Orange says: “Whatever of truth & righteousness man has, is from that fountain, after which we in this desert ought to thirst, in order that, bedewed as it were with a few drops from it, we may not faint in the way.”


“From that fountain the King of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, had a full torrent accompanying Him throughout His progress…That same torrent flows today to revive & refresh us as we climb our mountains” (Mrs.Cowman).

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