A View From the Mountains eBook: Inspirational Snapshots of God's Grace in Action

By John R Hardison

How do you know God is still with you?Outdoor enthusiasts know how treacherous the wilderness can be when you' re not on the right path. This is true in everyday life as well. As Christians, we sometimes stop following Jesus and attempt to go our own way, only to find ourselves in trouble. Thankfully, our God does not abandon us in those moments! Rather, he tries to bring us back to him, because he says in his Word, “ Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6).In this book by author John Hardison, you' ll discover a collection of heartfelt stories based on his personal experiences in life. These anecdotes are told in a down-to-earth style that' s firmly framed by the cross of Jesus. They offer the peace, comfort, hope, and joy that are yours in Christ, despite the grief and hardships of this world.A View From the Mountains is a thought-provoking book that' s both sobering and uplifting. It' s one you' ll want to read again and again!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Northwestern Publishing House
• Release date: Jul 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9780810026339

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

When I finished writing Under God’s Sky, I thought I had told all of my stories that were worth telling. However, as I continued to write articles for our church newsletter, I began to realize I had only scratched the surface. The ideas kept coming, whether I wanted them to or not. I would hear something in a sermon, on TV, or in a conversation, and another story would begin to take shape in my mind. The Lord seemed to be encouraging me to write some more. This collection of stories is the result.

Here the reader will find another collection of true stories. They are written in layman’s language, so they are easy to read. Each one is intended to cause readers to sit back and think about a particular aspect of their Christian lives. I believe this book—like its predecessors—contains much worthwhile food for thought.

I have tried to present law and gospel throughout the book as a whole. Some stories remind us of God’s laws, which show us our sins and help guide us along his path. Others speak of the free gift of salvation Christ provided for each of us by dying on the cross to save us from the punishment for our sins. Some stories review the fact that no matter how hard we try, on our own we can never follow God’s rules flawlessly. If we could make ourselves perfect in God’s sight, there would have been no reason for God to send a Savior. We are sinners. Yet, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we try to express our thanks to God with our lives and actions. In other words, these stories are about the successes and struggles all of us face every day in our lives as Christians.

It is my sincere prayer that my readers will find these articles thought provoking. Some may make you feel happy, while others may cause a tear to fall. But if they cause you to pause a moment and rethink how God is working in your lives, I will have accomplished my goal.

John R. Hardison

THE RUGGED MOUNTAINS

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:5-9)

I had hiked to the top of a favorite ridge high in the Cascade Mountains, where I could see for miles. A few gold-rimmed clouds seemed to float wistfully in an otherwise azure sky. The surrounding mountains glowed with a surreal appearance, as newly fallen snow draped across their shoulders began to reflect the first rays of the morning sun. Up the steep mountainsides, fir trees and evergreen shrubs dotted the rocky crags. Huge tamarack trees, which had stood like golden candles pointing toward heaven a few weeks earlier, were now bare of all needles. Their light brown frameworks were topped with the white freshly fallen snow. All this, I thought to myself, is a picture to delight an artist’s heart.

I found an old tree stump, brushed the snow away, and sat down to enjoy the view and wait for the welcome warmth of the sun to reach me. The panoramic view of the glistening mountains led me to think about God and all the many blessings he provides for us. All I had to do was sit and open my eyes, and my senses were flooded with indescribable beauty.

I thought about the many times I had driven through the high, snow-covered mountain passes of Washington State in the winter and how few times I had paused to give thanks to the Creator for their beauty. Once each year that first snow had arrived, covering everything with a layer of clean and white. But too often I had failed to appreciate its beauty or its value as a source of life-giving water for the valleys below. I considered the wonders of the forest itself. Each tree grew a little each year, with the potential to produce oxygen, shade, lumber, and heat. Each ridge and gully was a potential home for many kinds of birds and wildlife. All the components in God’s creation exist for a reason, but so often we don’t pause long enough to understand or recognize their real worth and beauty. He gives us eyes to see, ears to hear, and a nose to smell; but many times we don’t notice the beauty of God’s handiwork, though it is displayed right in front of us. And if we do notice, we don’t take time to thank God for providing it.

My thoughts returned to the moment. My attention was drawn to several crows circling above the base of a ridge directly across from me. They rode the air currents in lazy circles then dove down into the fir trees near the bottom of the ridge, looking for carrion. I thought about how easy it was for them to fly from where I sat to that ridge half a mile away. Here was a marvel of God’s creation, the simple crow. The trip would take them only a minute, but because of the rough terrain and lack of any real trail, the same trip would take me more then an hour.

Somewhere down the ridge a tree squirrel started to chatter. Maybe something had disturbed him. Maybe he was sending an alarm that an intruder was nearby. Or maybe he had discovered a cache of pinecones filled with seeds he could store away for the winter. As I listened, I could see him in my mind, as I had seen many squirrels in the past, his face getting fatter as he stuffed seeds inside his cheeks till they would hold no more. Then he would scurry off to add them to his winter supply. Soon these ridges would have too much snow for gathering food, but the squirrel would be warm and well fed in his den. No utility or food bills for him. This is another wonder of God’s creation I have often ignored.

I got up, stretched, and started back down the trail. Tracks told the story of a good-sized black bear that had crossed the trail I had made just a few hours before. I had neither seen nor heard him. He had topped the ridge, crossed my track, and continued across a long, sloping rockslide. His tracks disappeared into a deep canyon. No point in following, I thought. The rockslide was snow covered and dangerous. Besides, the bear would no doubt hear me coming and be gone long before I could catch a glimpse of him. Bears cannot see well, but their hearing and sense of smell is unsurpassed, another of God’s wonders most of us seldom stop to realize or appreciate.

It was an uplifting and beautiful hike I took that fall day. For once I took the time to stop and consider the wonders God has provided. Most of all I reserved time to give praise to the Lord for things as majestic as the snow covered peaks, as simple as a crow’s flight, and as telling as a bear’s travels revealed by tracks in fresh snow.

Let [the people] shout from the mountaintops. Let them give glory to the Lord and proclaim his praise. (Isaiah 42:11,12)

THANKSGIVING?

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (Psalm 23:4,5 KJV)

It was the usual month for giving thanks, but the days leading up to November 2001 had been anything but usual. The prospect of giving thanks seemed to be in conflict with the picture of Ground Zero, which was still looming over my thoughts. I now saw so many people out of work, and the financial world of many others was turned upside down by the failing stock market and the lack of sales.

On the morning of September 11th, my mother had called. She said she needed me to come over. She had been ill for some time, and her manner and tone suggested urgency. I explained that I would come after an appointment with my doctor.

Before I left for the doctor, I glanced at the early morning stock market averages on the Internet. Seeing strange numbers that made no sense, I remember thinking, I hope the Internet providers get their act together.

As I entered the doctor’s office around 9:20 A.M., I was aware that a news program was on TV. But because my chair put me out of the line of sight, I paid little attention. When the nurse led me to the examining room, she asked what I thought of all that was happening. When I said I wasn’t aware that anything special was happening, she told me of the attack on America. I thought she was joking at first. She wasn’t.

Later, as I sat with my mom, the images of the carnage were all over the TV screen. As mom’s condition worsened and she was less able to talk, I had time to reflect on the whole situation. Here I was, sitting with my mother for what turned out to be the last four days of her life, while the TV screen relayed images of people searching desperately for loved ones. Somehow my problems and my mother’s problems seemed to come into focus. She was dying of natural causes. She was going home. But the scenes on TV showed death from a much more desperate perspective.

I thought about the men, women, and children on those four planes. Some of them knew they were going to die even before they crashed. I thought of those who had been trying to do their job of protecting people and had lost their lives. I thought of all the grieving families they left behind.

Should I have been thankful two months later at Thanksgiving? I considered these questions: Was I alive, well, and able to attend church? Could I reach out and help those who had suffered losses? Was God using this to lead people to do some serious soul searching with the result that some were turning to his Word? As a nation, had we pulled together perhaps more under God than at any recent time in our history? Was God still there for us no matter what our problems might be? Was my mother out of earthly pain and in heaven? Of course, the answer to all these questions was a resounding Yes!

Yes, I gave thanks on that Thanksgiving Day, as I have on every other. And I remembered to ask the Lord to help those whose troubles were greater than my own. Words from the Bible comforted me:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

(Deuteronomy 31:6)

GOD WAS THERE

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (James 5:13-16)

That crisp early morning, I sat on a knoll about a mile north of the Spokane River in Washington State, hunting deer. As I wrapped my wool coat around me against the cold, I suddenly had the feeling I was not alone. I looked in all directions. I couldn’t see any of my fellow hunters. No one was in sight; nothing was moving. Yet the feeling persisted that I was not alone.

That morning as I had been thinking about life in general, my thoughts turned to my own problems. Now as I sat alone—but not alone—I realized God was there, somehow felt but unseen. Of course, I know God is always with me. But at that moment, on that particular knoll, thoughts of an ever-present God settled over my problems and my very soul. I remember thinking, Yes; it’s time to talk.

I must have sat for an hour or more, deep in prayer and meditation. The sun was high above the horizon when I finally stood up. Had lightning struck? No. Had a voice spoken to me from a burning bush? No. Could I recount the conversation? No. Had I felt that God was with me on that knoll? Yes! I felt his closeness as surely as you are reading these lines. I remembered his promises to hear my prayers and to work in all things for my good. God comforted me with a welcome and certain peace as I sat lost in prayer.

Some things had become clearer to me. My own problems, and those of the world in general, now seemed more bearable. That moment, several decades ago, still stands out as a special moment: God seemed particularly personal and close at a time in my life when I really needed him.

Take quality time to pray. God is always near and ready to listen. Too often I find myself not making the needed time. Worse yet, I recite the words of a dinner prayer or the Lord’s Prayer without thinking about what I am really saying. When I catch myself, I think back to that knoll near Spokane when God was there for me. Then I remember once again the value of taking time to find a spot where I can be alone, a place where I can shut out the world with all its distractions and spend a few quality minutes with my Lord. I hope you will do the same. God is always there. I am with you always, he promises (Matthew 28:20). Let us pray often, bringing our problems and our thanks to our Lord.

Many times I’ve sung the song It’s Me, O Lord, Standing in the Need of Prayer. That song expresses the truth that we all benefit when we take our lives to God in prayer.

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. (Psalm 139:1-6)

THE STORM

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. (Job 38:1)

Snow swirled crazily in the beams of our flashlights as we saddled our horses. One moment the flakes came straight down. The next they moved horizontally, whipped this way and that by the wind.

Without speaking, Farrel and I doused the lights and rode upward along the steep trail among snow-laden branches that reached for us from the darkness. It was a cold November morning. The wind chill hovered near zero. The higher up the mountain we climbed, the louder the wind howled through the treetops. But we were determined that a little wind and snow wasn’t going to stop our elk hunt.

We paused now and then to rest the horses. Usually a quick sweep with our flashlights would reveal any fresh elk tracks in the snow, but this morning the wind had erased any sign of the magnificent creatures. Everywhere we looked, the forest floor was smooth and white. We continued winding our way upward. As we reached the highest point where the trail turned right and wound around the mountain, the wind nearly blew our horses over. Only the thick stand of trees offered some welcome shelter from the blast of the wind. For what seemed like forever, we snaked our way through the thick timber, surrounded by wildly swaying trees and blinded by the swirling snow. Finally we emerged at the hidden camp. This camp, established by a packer many years earlier, provided a good spot to leave the horses while we hunted some ridges on foot.

Our faces plastered with driven snow, Farrel and I spoke briefly about where we would hunt and when we would meet back at the hidden camp. Then we began working our way deeper into the white wilderness.

A well-hidden sun rose behind snow-laden clouds filled with billions of swirling, blowing snowflakes. Trees several feet in diameter swayed like grass. I followed my assigned path. Now and then in the muted light, I would see an old elk track. It was impossible to tell whether it was an hour or three days old. It occurred to me that it was possible these tracks were only minutes old. I moved slowly and attentively. The wind and snow increased. At times, a blast of swirling snow would totally blind me for a minute or more before I could see the trail again.

The trees had become brittle in the extreme cold. As I worked farther around the mountain, I could hear them snapping off in the wind and crashing to the forest floor. These explosions of bark, wood, and snow became more and more frequent and edged gradually closer.

I worked my way across a flat wooded area, stopping every few feet to squint through the blinding snow. More trees crashed down. It was awesome, and humbling, to hear those trees thrash their way to the ground, especially during those times when I was completely blinded by swirling snow.

Finally, deciding that enough was enough, I said a little prayer and started back to the horses. I backtracked over my own footprints that, with each passing moment, were being filled with more snow. Suddenly my tracks ended beneath the branches of a fallen tree. At first I didn’t comprehend what had happened. Then I realized that a large tree had fallen lengthwise on the tracks I had made only moments earlier. Recovering my senses, I bypassed the fallen tree as other trees fell too close for comfort.

I found Farrel waiting by the horses. We agreed that staying in the area was a waste of time and probably dangerous. On certain sections of the trail, one fallen tree could trap our horses and us with them.

We saw no elk that day, but we witnessed an awesome display of the power of nature at work. I think of that day often, remembering how God chose to watch over two foolish people. We could easily have become lost. With a blast of blinding snow and wind, any one of those trees could have taken us out or blocked our retreat. No one in the world knew exactly where we were hunting. At the rate the snow was accumulating, we probably wouldn’t have been found until spring. In short, we could have been in serious trouble.

That hunting experience always reminds me of Jesus’ calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee for his disciples, several of whom were veteran fishermen who understood the destructive force that accompanied those winds. That mountain storm demonstrated to Farrel and me the fearsome power of God in nature, but it also showed the love and care he has for each of us, foolish though we may sometimes be.

Our home patio is situated so my wife and I can sit protected from the wind while we watch storms roll through the valley. Sometimes strong winds accompany lightning, and thunder. Those times always bring back memories of that mountain hunt and remind me once again of a powerful yet caring God who is forever in charge.

Some stormy morning, bundle up and take a walk in a howling snowstorm and witness God’s power. Our attempt to hunt that morning had been an experience we did not soon forget.

[The LORD’S] way is in the whirlwind and the storm…. The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it. (Nahum 1:3,5)

ONE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

[Jesus] said to them, Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15,16)

We may not feel that our gifts are worth much in God’s kingdom. But sometimes those who humbly come to church, love the Lord, and offer what they have in time, talents, and valuables are a special blessing for the rest of us. I had the privilege of knowing one of these ordinary, yet extraordinary, people. This is her story.

Beverly was one of Ruth’s friends from way back when they went to school together in Omak, Washington. By the time I got to know her, she lived out in the country. The route to her house took you along several miles of back roads, through a gate you had to open, and up two tracks to a mountainside home. In the winter, snowmobiles were required to get to the beautiful house she had converted from a barn. The only electricity came from a generator.

Bad roads aside, she always attended church on Sunday to worship and to hear the Word of God. Whenever Ruth and I would visit Ruth’s mother in Omak, we always saw Bev at the Sunday church services. She was one of the organists for Trinity Lutheran Church. That meant she had to make at least one additional drive into town each week to practice the hymns for Sunday.

Some years ago, Bev was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and endured extensive treatments. Sick or not, she rarely missed church, and she continued to play the organ faithfully. She outlived the doctor’s prognosis by many months. And all during that time, she continued to serve her Lord and church just as she had before.

What a wonderful Christian example she set for us day after day! I never heard her complain, and she was always willing to help. She loved doing the Lord’s work, even when she was very ill. Once when teaching a group of kids in vacation Bible school, she got a good laugh from them when she took off the wig she was wearing. The kids loved her. The fact that she was willing to make jokes in spite of her illness made them like her even more.

Her husband, Jerry, was not a church member. In fact, he claimed to be an atheist. She prayed constantly that he would become a believer, but he was adamant about staying away from church. Over time, several pastors talked with him. Several times Jerry would begin attending Bible information classes only to give them up after a few weeks.

When Bev finally went to be with