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The Mountain
By Carmen Geisendorff
June 9, 2003
I once
faced a mountain as I meandered along
(Though now I know the
mountain faced me!)
That mountain arose from the depths of the ocean
“Despair” was the name of that sea
That
mountain so ominous and threatening appeared
As suddenly as lightning can strike
It stood in full force towering above
I thought it seemed almost life-like
And as I
stared at it and it stared at me
I began to believe it did live
I
gave it eyes and a nose and a mouth
I created all the force it would give
I gave it
permission to scare me
I allowed it the right to stay near
I permitted it to stand blocking my path
I accepted its dark gift of fear
Trembling I
cowered before it
I believed I could feel its elation
As it reveled in its power over my life -
This giant of my own creation
So much
control I relinquished
To this “thing” that had not a hand
Yet it stood resolutely - blocking my path
My entrance to His Promised Land
Frightened
almost beyond reason
Searching for some way around
I lost my sense of direction
I was fairly certain I would never be found
I pled
with God to be rescued
I moaned in the depths
of despair
I reached out to grasp His dear presence
But, alas…I could not feel Him there!
I knew
I had not been abandoned
I knew that my faith had not died
For I trusted the Word buried deep in my heart
God promised He’d be close by my side
I did not
feel “Blessed Assurance”
I did not enjoy the songs I would sing
But I sang anyway right there in that valley
And oh, how the echoes would ring!
But instead
of feeling “Victory in Jesus”
As I sang to my “Sweet Rose of Sharon”
I felt hypocritical as I lifted my voice
Since my heart was feeling so barren!
But I sang,
and I sang, and I sang, and I sang.
I sang past the songbook’s last pages!
I sang of His love and His truth and His Caring
I sang to my “Old Rock of Ages”
Then
suddenly out of nowhere in the mountain so great
I heard this small and still voice
And though still and small, it rang loud and
clear
And told me that I had a choice
I could
shiver there in the cold shadows
I could continue to bow and to cower
Or I could speak to that mountain so great and so tall
And move
it with God-given power!
Then
abruptly there was a transfer
I shook cobwebs right out of my faith
I straightened up my sore, bent shoulders
I knew the decision was made.
“Get thee
behind me, Satan!
Mountain, be cast in the sea.
No longer will I allow this cruel torment
You’re no match for the God that’s in me!”
And then to
my utter amazement
That mountain just seemed to bow down
It sank just enough as it knelt at my feet
To create a path of dry ground
God knows:
The Sea of Despair might have drowned me
In its waves I might have been lost
But because of a mountain before me
Instantly, I had a clear path across!
So, now I
appreciate that mountain
And the fear that can never return
I sing praises with joy for the rock underfoot
Thanking God for the lesson I’ve learned!
ninetyandnine.com
© 2003 Carmen Geisendorff
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Carmen Geisendorff is a pastor's wife in Louisiana
who knows a thing or two about mountains. This poem was born just as suddenly as
the appearance of the aforementioned mountain while Carmen was folding a
mountain of clothes, a little after midnight on the morning of her Fourth
Marital Anniversary.
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ibidem, adv, {L}: in the same place*
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