Simple Enough

He stood at the top of the mountain, looking at the valley below. His mind switched gears like a remote moving through different channels on the television. Memories flashed by of this journey from one life to the next. His mind filled with good and bad memories. Questions tried to find their way from his soul to his lips to a sound but nothing. For some reason none of it mattered right now. There, standing on the top of the mountain, he and his creator, eye to eye for the first time.

When he started up this mountain, so long ago, his burden was heavy, the yoke unbearable. He was pulling a wagon filled with his past, his belongings and his perceived reputation. As he climbed the mountain, casting off each belonging seemed so difficult at the time. Many times along the way he had made camp, afraid not to continue but unable to carry all that he had with him. It took time to sort out what would go and what he would continue to try and take to the top of the mountain.

As he got closer to the top he realized the wagon was gone and with it much that had been inside. Later, the yoke was lighter; someone next to him was assisting with the load. The man thought he recognized the face but failed to take time to stop and have a conversation.

Somewhere near the end, a point came when everything the man knew was laid before him on the ground. All the things that he counted on as his were there before him. Important things, so they seemed to be. The top of the mountain was so close. To continue meant something else had to go.

There I stand, wanting the top paragraph of this story to be more than a few words on a computer screen. Trust is what holds me back that and a willingness to abandon everything to stare into the face of God. So I look down at the essentials scattered at my feet and struggle to decide which one goes next. The only thing holding me back is disobedience or the refusal to be simple enough.

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  zach April 29, 2009 at 10:32 pm

  We both stuggle with the same types of things. When I read your work here it makes it easier to exist somehow. Your words are a good reminder of how the best things never come easily or when we expect them to. It is hard to have years or even decades in your life where you know you were a fool. I guess wisdom can only come from undoing those things if it ever does. Or trying to at least.