Tuesday, November 17, 2015

This is Only a Mountain



Matthew 17:20
He replied, "Because you have so little faith.  Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move.  Nothing is impossible for you."

My husband, Danny, and I are grateful to live in a forest so deep we don't even own a lawn mower.  Our ground cover is moss, beautifully springy and evergreen.  The only yard work in which we engage is in the fall when all those enchanting leaves, which give us generous shade throughout the summer, know it's time to release and descend.

Usually, autumn here in Georgia tends to be drier than wetter.  That means sweeping the decks, the stairs, and blowing off the moss on a regular basis is a fairly easy task.  But when we suffer through the recent torrential rains, observing the leaves falling in swarming hoards upon the sodden ground, our hearts sink.  How will we ever dig out from this mountain of deciduous vegetation threatening to smother our tender moss and annihilate the sanctity of our deck?

How will the leaf blower tackle the soggy mess and not harm the moss hidden beneath its cloak?

We are blessed with a respite from rain for one day's time.  Danny decides to take the challenge, to move the mountain of leaves, wet or not, from the forest floor.



It takes him four hours to accomplish the task, a time unheard of with regards to previous autumn toils.  Danny and I both had doubts that this horrendous mess could be salvaged.

Yet, God reminds us:  This is only a mountain.

We balk, we falter, we question.

We doubt.

But God proves, time after time, that He is in it all, providing the miracles we need even before we ask, if we open the eyes of our hearts to behold them.

Danny and the Lord prevail!



Just as Danny freed the moss from the bondage of the soaking, choking grip of the fallen leaves, the Lord frees us from the bondage of sin and death.  We need only believe that, by His grace, we can move a mountain.

Many mountains.

Because with God, all things are possible.

~
What mountains are standing in your way today?

Prayer:  Father, sometimes I feel my faith is as tiny as a mustard seed.  Life is hard.  It's unpredictable.  Moving mountains seems impossible.  Yet life is filled with Your grace, mercy and love.  May we all trust in Your promise and in Jesus' words that with Him, the mountains will move.  In Jesus' name, we pray.  Amen.

You can listen to the praise song, "Only a Mountain," here. 

14 comments:

  1. pat yourself on the back Danny! I am fortunate. The only leaves I have to deal with are those from the neighbor's trees. But I do plenty of lawnmowing. Fortunately, I can do it under 45 minutes.

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    1. That's a blessing that it doesn't take you more than 45 minutes each time you do have to mow, Bill. I'll be sure and pass on your compliment to Danny.
      Love and blessings!

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  2. The moss and the continual shade - and lower energy bills - are worth every leaf, but it sure did look like a mountain.

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  3. Martha, I'm thankful along with you and Danny that he was able to tackle the mountain of leaves. Living where I do, we sometimes have leaves "needing" raked AFTER the first snow (depends on the type of tree). Thankfully, my trees shed their foliage long before it snows. I've discovered the leaves on the grass are a good thing for winter. :)

    My current "mountains"? I'm guessing that would be the various piles/files of papers I have in various places. On the bright side, I'm making some degree of progress.

    Love and blessings!

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    Replies
    1. Kim, it's so interesting to know how differing climates affect leaf fall; who would have thought leaves covering grass beneath the snow could be a good thing? Here in Georgia, as our snows are intermittent at best, it's something we rarely ponder.
      And yep, there are always mountains in our lives, no matter what shape they happen to take. I've been praying a lot this week about one my daughter and son-in-law are facing presently. I'm having faith in Jesus and telling it to move!
      Love and blessings!

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  4. Thank you for a wonderful blog will be reading Deborah Esther

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    1. You are so welcome, Deborah! Glad to have you on board. :)
      Love and blessings!

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  5. What a beautiful setting you have. Inspirational for a writer. just love it and loved your message too. God will prevail! sounds like Danny did too. LOL

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    1. Yes, Jean, I always find our backyard a source of beauty and inspiration. Danny did prevail, but the yard is once again covered with leaves. He'll be out blowing them again this weekend. :)
      Love and blessings!

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  6. Our new house has a pool and the falling leaves bring a whole new headache this year! So thankful He has broken the chains and loosed from the cords of death. Thank you, Martha!

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    1. Oh, wow, Jason, that is a challenge, indeed, to get all those leaves out of the pool. But it's only a mountain, and you can, with God's help, tell it to move! :)
      Love and blessings!

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  7. Thank you for this post Martha. Always a great reminder and prayer woven into your messages. Moving mountains doesn't seem impossible and maybe by our hands alone it does seem impossible. If we can surrender and give it to the hands of God, life becomes so much easier. The moss gets freed, the leaves moved and the mountain may not have been a mountain afterall.

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  8. Martha this is so inspiring and hats off to Danny for his patience and hard work!

    As for my mountains it would be my manuscript. Finally it does seem to have taken off but at a very slow pace. Something is better than nothing perhaps *sigh*

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