FROM PIT TO PEAK

December 9, 2023

By: Travis W. Lewis

On a recent morning just after I awoke, my mind wandered into its not unusual thought mode during such times. I pondered on tasks that needed to be completed on the farm, equipment broken down that would need repair, costs and time involved to complete reparation, how soon we could get this or that burden behind us, imminent hurdles that family members are having to deal with, or what part, if any, with which I could help.

Many years ago, I learned the importance of early morning activity which triggers the brain to begin producing a chemical called serotonin, which has been proven to help pull the mind out of its depressed, negative state. Yet, early morning and prior to arising frequently finds my mind in such a state as I try to generate motivation to think more positively about brighter things.

On this particular morning, I soon began to hear rumblings of thunder and the noise of rain beginning to fall, all which had been forecast the prior evening. And as my mind became more alert, I could sense my outlook for the day beginning to change. Hearing noise of the hard shower begin outside, the thought of having a roof overhead to keep my family and belongings dry and of having a small box on the wall which, with the touch of a finger, I could adjust the room temperature to whatever comfort level I liked, then expect the inside temperature of the house to remain constant throughout the day – both started to generate a sort of shame toward my thoughts of just moments ago.

And that train of thought wouldn’t stop as others filled my mind in succession: how that shortly, I would be up and in the kitchen where within a matter of seconds following the click of a button – not on a “coffee pot”, but on a “coffee maker” – I would be sipping on a steaming cup of coffee instead of having to start a fire in a woodburning stove, allowing time for it to heat after pouring cold water into a coffee pot within which I had deposited a few spoons of ground coffee and placing the pot on the stove as it heated, then turning my back to the stove while its fire heated my chilled backside and the coffee water at last reached a boil.

A bountiful supply of refrigerated food was stored inside the house, and within a few minutes’ drive in a pre-warmed vehicle, I could afford to add whatever food or grocery items for which my tastes called. Closets in each bedroom held clothes and shoes to suit any occasion we might want to attend or to which we may need to adapt. In my heart was no more fear of my family being molested or the comfort of our home being disturbed than would be experienced by the wealthiest family in Tennessee.

In a similar house only a few hundred yards away rested our son’s family with whom I can visit at will. With other immediate kin who live not so close, I have vehicles available to carry me in comfort for a visit at almost any time I choose.

The thoughts continued to flood my mind without stopping. Laying asleep beside me lay one whom I love dearly, and of whom I am just as sure of her love toward me. Then the thought that had probably been laid aside too long came of the importance of having someone to love even more than self and of having that same person reciprocate with the same.

Similar thoughts continued to roll like a ticker tape across my mind until at some point, a view appeared of the countless souls across the globe who would pay to the extent of their lives for their family to realize what my mind had just reviewed as being my blessings. In my mind, I could see fathers who put their children to bed hungry last night; grandfathers whose love for their deprived grandchildren is as deep as what I harbor in my breast for my own; and parents whose house may lie in shambles tonight, through no fault of their own; of dads and moms who struggle to make ends meet with no dependable source of sufficient income to support their growing family; or of homes who are agonizing over ailing or erring children or a spouse or a terminally ill parent.

Soon, I was reminded of only a few moments ago when my spirits were in a slump. It was at that point when I realized Satan had again taken advantage of my psychologically weakest time and had cast my thoughts into doldrums. It was no phenomenon that my day had begun at such a low point. Nor was it strange that my tide of thoughts had soon turned from dark burdens to warmer, brighter thoughts of thanksgiving. Then, lest I begin thinking of my present state originating from my own good deeds, my intelligence, just good luck, or some mixture of all three, my concluding thought was something like, “You know, Travis, fathers and mothers and those grandparents who you just pitied, are no less deserving than you.”

Just then, I realized once again whose fingerprints are still all over each of the blessings that I take for granted much too often. Only the Spirit of a loving God whom we claim as Father can wrestle such dark thoughts from His child’s mind and replace them with an infinitely brighter view; then seal His work with a gentle reminder of who is our lone source of joy.

Again, this morning, it was He who had raised me from a pit to a peak. And, before continuing my thoughts and plans for the day ahead, I gave Him thanks! Ω TL 2024