As I write I’m sitting alone in the lobby of Sheridan Hotel in Telluride, Colorado at 5 am. looking at a snow-covered peak in late May.  And my heart is dancing. My eyes well up with tears. What’s going on?

Mountains make me intensely aware of majesty, of might, and of mystery. Mountains move me to stand in awe. They release stirrings deep inside of me.  What mighty power it had to take to make such majestic peaks! How could such power originate (as our culture continually cries out) from a causeless cosmic combustion? No way!

Mountains manifest the mystery of our existence. The scientific question “Why are mountains there?” is not such a big deal. The more significant question is “Why does the sight of mountains so profoundly impact us humans? Why do we gaze in amazement? Why are we astonished by the view? Why do mountains lift our souls and set our spirits soaring? Why do we deny our safety instinct and ignore our logic so that we can risk our lives climbing treacherous mountains?

If mountains are only a random product of nature, then why should such sights stir up our human hearts so deeply? Why do we stop and gaze in amazement? Why do we “ooh and aah” at the sight? Why don’t our brains simply say “That’s a mountain,” and move us on to more important things?

The answer is simple: God “tells it on the mountain.” Mountains manifest the glory of God and we humans perceive His presence in our souls.

It is sad that we spend so little time marveling at the magnificent mystery of our existence and at the way the glories of nature wake up our hearts!

Sitting here I see the mountain. I sense the stirring. I surrender once again to our Maker!