I have tried to retreat for July for as long as I can remember, taking the kids, finding some preaching gigs, and loading up cars.
This year I headed to Idaho, Maine, and North Carolina to soak in mountain air, to plan, to preach and to celebrate a wedding.
We go the Mountain--that place of reflection and retreat. We can get there on a whispered prayer.
Every prophet, teacher, and sage goes to the Mountain. It is where we can keep our hearts strong, where we can glimpse the possibilities of our lives, and where we can find strength to go back into the valley to serve.
While mountaintops are coveted spots, climbing up to them is a physical, mental & emotional challenge. It takes courage to climb the mountains after spending time low in the valley.
Spiritually, "mountaintops" are experiences where we feel like we are soaring in the heavens like eagles. They are high points where we feel transcended by the Holy Spirit, enfolded in the arms of God, or like we can see visions.
Sometimes love swoops in during unexpected moments of transformation in mountaintop experiences, but before and after those moments, planning and hard work are required.
I have returned from my summer journeys with a poem to share with you.
MY ODE TO OHIO
I squint my eyes towards
Saw-toothed hills.
Dappled sunlight, dancing with aspen
Hit distant boulders
Making shapes of wild animal dreams.
In the high country
We can feel every breath
Commanding us to
"Relish the next step."
Clear undisturbed rivers
Call us to the banks
And further
Until we are reborn.
Glasses clank with Rose
Conversations rise beside the moon
Taking us closer to the truth.
Memory lingers
Longer than sun-tanned skin
As we treasure the gift
From this time on and forevermore.
With gratitude to Tara and Ben
-- Becca Stevens
Post Date - 07.30.25