Life on the Mountain

We moved totally out of our “comfort zone” in February of this year to be near our son.  A few weekends before that, we came up to look at the house we wanted to buy.  The address was in a lovely valley that I had fallen in love with while passing through, many years ago.  Well, the house DID have the town’s address but was actually located further north in a neighboring, unincorporated, rural community… on a plateau… through a mountain pass… 2009 feet above sea level!

The house wasn’t much–What you would call a REAL “Fixer Upper”!  But, because of the sudden seller’s market in real estate, we could pay cash for it out of the inflated proceeds from the house we were selling.  We had our share of catastrophes as we moved in and then, with our son’s help, we–HE(!) planted us a garden.  Then, we went off the deep end and began raising laying chickens and meat rabbits!  (What were we thinking?).

I love life on the mountain!  Few people experience what we are actually living so I began writing my experiences in sort of a blog form for my FaceBook friends called, “Life on the Mountain”.  In my “fantasy” mind, I think of the adventures of “Heidi”, the famous, children book series recounting Heidi’s life on a Swiss mountain living with her grandfather.  So, here we are, experiencing both the ups and downs of “Life on the Mountain”!

Today, I want to share a thought about what life on the mountain has taught me about moving out of my comfort zone.  Most of us do not think much about our comfort zones and take them for granted.  We may dread the alarm clock going off to get the kids off to school.  We may be helping our husbands and perhaps ourselves off to work!  -In some cases, it may be getting up early for doctor appointments!  (Hello, Kim Howell!)

But first, as way of introduction, several weeks ago, we were gifted with two new rabbits.  We needed to re-arrange things in our chicken and rabbit pen for their new cage.  So, for the first few nights, their cage was temporarily against the house near our bedroom.  The beautiful, summer nights up here on the mountain afford us the opportunity to keep our windows open but early in the morning, those rabbits were already up and playing with their food dishes!  ARGH!!!  Every morning, I was being awaken by their noise!  So, I would drag myself out of bed to go feed them and let the chickens out of their coop, as well.

Because of this new responsibility, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and am getting used to being up around 6:00 every morning now!  (7:00 is my”natural” waking time.). The animals must be taken care of, regardless of how sleepy or tired I am.  (*Doing my fair share because I know that when winter comes around, by default, this may become my husband’s job!!!). Actually, I am up at 5:00 because our county line divides the Eastern and Central Time Zones but we keep our clocks on EST since most of our daily business is in the next county.

How does all of this tie into a spiritual application?  We often get cozy in our comfort zones and don’t want to wander away from it. This is not God’s plan for us!  We do not exercise our faith by staying within those walls.  Each step we take outside of our comfort zone gives God the opportunity to teach us, strengthen us, and bless us! God has given us His promises AND His commands to trust Him.

Until God directed our path to move on top of the mountain, I never realized how “cushy” my life and routines were before!  Supermarkets, restaurants, doctor offices, and any other service I needed were always nearby.  Now, I must cross the mountain pass, no matter what I need!

On a spiritual level, singing in the choir may not be too stressful but, there may come a time that you will be asked to sing your first solo.  God knows what you are capable of and He is moving you out of your comfort zone to be a blessing to others!

And what about the church nursery?  I admire women who can just love on all babies.  I am not that way but I know it is everyone’s responsibility (if they are capable) to be willing to help in their church’s nursery or creche.  Working with babies is out of my comfort zone but, I am happy to help so that a young mother can listen attentively to God’s word being proclaimed.

Many ladies I have talked to were petrified at teaching a Sunday School or VBS class (vacation/holiday Bible school), and even more petrified to be the guest speaker for a Ladies meeting.  With a quivering voice, they stepped out of their comfort zone and God used them!  Maybe they were not perfect but were any of us the first time we taught?

As I write this, we are having a church ladies meeting this weekend.  I asked a young lady who is home from her first year of Bible College to speak to us.  She grew up in this church from the day she was born!  Now, she will be speaking for the first time to aged and wise women who taught her or watched her grow up!  This is a stepping stone for her to slowly move out of her comfort zone.  I am not expecting perfection but all of us ladies are supporting her because we know that in a few years, she will be responsible in leading children, teens, or adult ladies.  While she might be trembling in her shoes, we will be blessed watching her step into women’s ministry!

Have you ever secretly complained that you were asked to take a meal to a church member that lived some distance away?   I confess that I have!  I didn’t want to leave my comfort zone.  A few years ago, we lived over 30 minutes away from our church and a family with Covid who just welcomed a new baby into their family also lived 30 minutes away–the opposite direction!  I had to confess my bad attitude to the Lord because, delivering a meal to this family was no different than delivering it to God, himself!

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

Isaiah 55:11,  “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Life on the mountain has had its difficulties but it has shown me God’s watch-care and protection over us, His beauty in nature, and, on occasional summer nights, to sit out on our porch watching the fire flies (lightening bugs) while we contemplate His mercy and grace!   Our discomfort is made comfortable through Christ.

Do you know how some Mama birds gets their young fledglings out of the nest to fly?  Just as she builds her nest, one straw at a time, she begins removing one piece at a time.  Soon, the softness isn’t so soft and the larger sticks begin to poke.  The fledglings are losing their comfort zones!  They are uncomfortable in their nest and begin to learn to fly, (Possibly under protest!).  They have no idea that a beautiful world awaits them.  They first have to get out of their comfortable nest, first!

And, so it is with God’s children!  Many times, we don’t know what we are capable of doing until our nest is stirred up!  The next time your life has been turned upside down, look for what God is preparing you for that is outside your comfort zone.