There's a verse in the Bible - Habakkuk 3: 19 - where the prophet proclaims: "The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He enables me to walk on the mountain heights."
That proclamation of victory was made at a time when everything in Habakkuk's world was falling apart. His people and his nation were in a mess and he was calling out for God's help. Amidst the seeming hopelessness, he declares in the final few verses of that third chapter that he is going to rejoice in God and trust Him no matter what.
Amidst the various pressures I've faced in recent weeks: losing my home, losing my Dad, battling pneumonia... it seemed fitting last weekend that I could spend just a couple of hours "on the mountain heights," enjoying the beauty of God's creation.
Sunday was the day of the famous annual Pinsapo mountain trail race - a route that takes runners through the forest and across the mountains of Andalucía. Some friends and neighbours of mine had signed up as runners, one doing the 29½ km marathon that has an altitude difference of 1700m and two others doing the 16½ km route that involved a climb of 800m.
And then there was the lazy version for those of us "in recovery" (Maiki recovering from a tummy bug, and I still coughing with the aftermath of the pneumonia). The dogs and I took a leisurely 7½ km walk around the village of Yunquera, out through the olive groves and up to some lookout points with beautiful views. We had an altitude change of only 140m, but we had a big temperature change from 9° in the early morning to 23° at lunch time.
What a joy it was, amidst the pressure of impending homelessness, to be able to take just a few hours away from the craziness, to breathe in the mountain air and to remember that God's goal is for us to experience the victory of walking in the high places.
