Yet, each in their journey realizes that the purpose will give their life meaning, and so, the man places his first step, smudging the sole of his shoe into the smooth surface of the rock and begins to climb. The woman looks back from where she came, the past so far in the distance, yet still, a visible reminder of that which she chose to leave. Shaking her head, ‘No,' she turns towards the wall of rock and looks up at the spire that portends of an endless climb. Yet, her heart leads her to discover the mountaintop and life’s treasure that she is hoping that awaits her, and without any further hesitation, begins to scramble up the rocky face.
Along the climb, the man stops frequently to question, “Why?” He looks across the barren plain. “Why were my deeds in love not fruitful?” The silence within is purposeful, causing him to seek God deeper for the answer. He needs to find it within his own heart. God placed the answer long ago in the tender heart of his youth, long before he would need it. Yet, the man’s striving nature, zeal to achieve goals and feel the conquest of the young woman that first laid eyes on him, shrouds the answer, it becomes dormant, sleeping like a loyal dog at the feet of his best friend, yet ready to walk with him when called. There never is a call, and the dog grows old and weary from inactivity and dies. He did not nurture the gift of love that God placed in his heart.
The man continues his climb, not certain why he is climbing or where he is going, knowing only that God delivered him from a desert life. As his body grows stronger, his mind quickens, and his heart softens. The passing of his dog that held him as a best friend opens his eyes to that which he is blind, the hearts of those closest to him. Now, he sees their hearts, in their eyes as he watches them speak, in their faces that look to him for answers, in their arms that willingly embrace him. Yet, he cannot shake the feeling in his heart of her’s that shut to his, becoming cold and indifferent, closing the door to the chambers that once had harbored a fondness and love.
The woman fills her days searching the mountainside, scampering over boulders, traversing the scree with agility and persistence. Curiosity takes her to places she never knew, adventure is her ambition, dependent only on herself, she follows her heart wherever it leads.
The peak is near, and although it cannot yet be seen, the man and the woman, each with their own reflection, imagine what the other side will portend. She looks out on the horizon, a land, a time left behind, vacant and bleak, void of emotion, only a sense of distaste remains. He, likewise, gazes over the hazy barrenness that becomes a backdrop to the foggy mist that begins to settle around the mountaintop, and asks, again, “Why?”.
As the sun’s first rays open the heavens to morning, their individual perceptions of the dawning day differ, although on the same mountain, he climbing from the West, she from the East, although awakened by the same sun, he in its shadow, she feeling its glow. Their climb of the mountain unique, the land of their past the same, their journeys separate, yet its purpose common, to find what the future holds, to answer the question, “Why?”.
Nearing the peak, each noting the decline of any further rise, at opposite ends of the table top, the world of the other comes into focus. The man looks upon the horizon from where the woman has traveled. The landscape is bright and cheerful, aglow with the abundant joy of life and vibrant with emotion. The woman runs the remaining rise to find a palette of colors that brightens her soul. The land, a Kodachrome to treasure that brings life to any room, breathes life in her vacant heart.
As the man and the woman turn to take in the panorama of the peak, each of them sees what the other sees of their own land from where they individually travelled. They see for the first time that their own life was not bleak, empty, dismal, nor barren, seeing it through the eyes of the other. As they continue their circle gaze, they see each other in the distance. Instinctively they walk towards the apex between them. As they near, what she sees in him is unexpected, different from the image she had created. Familiarity is gone, all that remains is a curiosity to discover what is new. She begins to run, closing the gap between them.
The man, seeing the woman, her hair flowing in the wind, takes in the circumference of God’s beauty surrounding him and awakens the sleeping dog that with uncompromised loyalty laid at his feet and then finds the answer that laid dead in his heart:
“Place me like a seal over your heart, or like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many waters cannot quench love; neither can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with everything he owned, his offer would be utterly despised.” ~Song of Songs 8:6
Originally published February 23, 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Jeff Cambridge
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