Matthew 17

Jesus took his buddies Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain where he was changed to an exalted state. Two Old Testament greats showed up, and a voice boomed out of a cloud, which was, um, God.

I think we sometimes forget that the disciples were regular people. We think of them as characters in a novel. Fiction. But they had real experiences, one of them being witnessing the transfiguration. This isn’t science fiction. It’s historical nonfiction.

It was a vision, but they really went up the mountain and it was a real vision, used to instruct them. Then they came down the mountain to a man the disciples couldn’t heal, meaning they still needed more instruction. They also came down to something else.

Taxes.

How deflating.

We long to live on mountaintops for the inspiration and outrageous joy, but that ain’t real life. Real life is highs and lows and boring times in between.

In Colorado, some of us climb 14-ers (14,000+ foot peaks). We actually do this for fun. Think climbing stairs for seven straight hours. I know, I know…pretty nutty, but like most mountaintop experiences, instructive. Here’s an observation. Not much grows above tree line. The crops grow in the valleys.

If we want to grow, we gotta accept the valley time.

What’s your valley teaching you today?