Mountain Song

It was a cool Friday morning. The sun was shining and the thin vapor of fog drift away from the still green grass. Luke decided what he was going to do that night the moment he pulled himself out of bed. That day at school he witnessed people his own age mistreating other people. They were speaking about people in a downing manner, they cursed, lied, argued, and cheated each other every single day.
“Hey Luke,” said a boy named Ricky, “There’s this huge party tonight at my house. You’re welcome to come, and spread the word.”
“Don’t think I’ll make it,” answered Luke.
“Why not?” asked Ricky puzzled. Luke understood him completely. The previous year in school they always hit the parties and hit them hard, but this year it was different. Luke had spent the summer at his aunts house. She forced him to go to church with her every Sunday. Than a month before he had to return, something struck him. It was a song. A simple little song that made him think. Because of that song, he decided to actually listen to the speaker that day instead of dreaming about what food he was going to eat for lunch or a movie he was going to go see. The sermon hit him hard. It was on repentance. His aunt listened to an audio Bible in her car all the time. The sermon shook him so much that he turned off his ipod and listened also. They listened to a couple of the end chapters in Hebrews. Something in it just started making since. His aunt noticed his attention and asked if she need to turn it up. Instead he beat her with a thousand questions. A few weeks passed as he met with more and more Christians. Then one day he found himself sitting in the pew. His mind was made up. There was no reason to stop himself from giving himself to the Lord that every moment. The water washed him completely of his sins and past. Once out of the water he felt so clean that it stretched to his very soul. The Lord loved him, and he knew it.
His newly bought Bible was already showing a lot of ware to it, but it was his. He had never owned an actually book till then. When he returned home just the weekend before to start his first week, he made a very hard decision. He was going to try teaching his friends from school. His strength almost failed him when he first approached Ricky, but he remembered of the Lord and His love he wants to give to everyone. Well, Ricky laughed in his face. One by one, Luke’s friends avoided him and abandoned him for trying to spread God’s word. This was the first time Ricky had made an effort to come to talk to him.
“I told you a few days ago,” replied Luke calmly.
“What being a Christian means you can’t have fun,” asked Ricky scornfully.
“Not the type that happens at your parties.”
“You’re just an idiot,” said Ricky loud enough to gain some on lookers there in the hall. “You’ve gotten brainwashed some how or another this summer, and now you’re acting all high and mighty. Let me tell you something, there is nothing wrong with me that needs corrected. You’re God can’t condemn me as all you type of people claims he does. What’s so important tonight that you can’t come?”
“I’m camping,” replied Luke getting angry.
“Fine then,” said Ricky, “don’t tell me. You’d never camped in your life and you’d never planned on doing it before. I don’t ever want to speak to you again.” Luke watched Ricky storm away towards his class. Luke felt himself want to call him back and say he’ll go to his party just so he could still have at least one friend there at the school, but he turned his feet and walked to his own class.
The final bell rung, Luke was very relieved to leave. He proceeded home taking the longer route to avoid being seen in front of Ricky’s home. His house was busy as it normally was. His mother was cleaning the living room, as his little sisters played “house” in the kitchen. Luke told his mother of his plans and she reluctantly agreed to his request.
Luke quickly went through his room, gathered what he needed for just one night. He grabbed a few blankets, a few pieces of fruit, some water bottles, matches and incase it decided to rain, a small tent. He wouldn’t bring any extra clothes for what he was doing. He did change into warmer clothes and began his march.
Luke traveled down the street heading away from town. The land around him changed from suburb neighborhoods to drifting fields. It was a five mile walk to where he was going. Breathing heavily from the climb and walk, he stood at the entrance to the forestry gate. There at the entrance was the start of a ridge of a large knob that surrounded the town. Luke shifted his pack, feeling the weight of the rods for the tent pressing into his back. He continued. He wanted to get to his destination before the sun started to set.
The trees along the path still had their leaves, though they were starting to fad into bright reds, yellows, and oranges. The warm waning summer wind that blew against face dried some of his sweat off. Climbing up hill was no as easy as he first thought it would be.
After an hour and a half of trudging along up hill, he finally came to the small shelter house he remembered was there. At the shelter house the small yard was cleared to an edge of the cliff that surrounded it on three sides. A long fence hugged the edges to prevent anyone from falling, but what took the breath of anyone who visited there, was the view. It stretched on from miles at that height. The town looked like a small little dark square among the golden fields ready for harvest. This was what Luke wanted.
He removed his pack and started making camp. A fire was lit and everything was set and ready by the time night settled in. He sat himself apart from his little camp. Kneeling down in the tall grass, he felt the moisture sweep through his pants legs. The sky was growing dark, but only the fading reds, oranges, blues and purples still clung to the black sky from the sun. Luke sat there was being in complete awe of God’s greatness and power. He woke up that morning with such a simple ideal, and now it was becoming hard to fathom. Tears came rushing up to his eyes.
So began his full night of prayer and devotion to the Lord. His heart poured out over his past sins, for the people he loved the most. He wanted to be better for the Lord and asked for strength to continue in God’s ways. He took out his Bible and read some Psalms of David and others. He examined it all and prayed more to God for understanding. Then he examined God’s love to him and all things in the world that are honest and good to him. Luke treasured the Lord. The stars shown brightly in the velvet blue sky, they reminded him of the Lord and again of creation and power the Luke would never ever know. He read by fire light of Revelations and seeing God in His glory.
Then Luke’s mind strayed. The picture of Ricky’s face came rushing into his mind. Sorrow filled Luke.
“My dear Lord, if you have not heard me any this night in my pleads, please hear me now. Let Yourself be shown to Ricky.” Luke continued his pleads for an hour. Then he turned his heart to praising God for all He’s already done. He sang songs and the one that brought him to take notice of God.
The sun had risen on a tried but fulfilled young man. Luke descended the hill thinking of so many things about the Lord and what his life should be like from now on so he will one day thank the Lord personally for allowing it to be so. His walk back to his house was a little harder knowing the world around him and the example he had to be to so many around him. The town came into view, then his street, then his yard. What he saw made his feet stop where they were. The familiar face of Ricky was sitting on the front step watching him. Luke walked slowly towards him, begging the Lord to strengthen him so he wouldn’t fall. The two young men stood facing each other. Luke waited not wanting to be the first to say anything.
“What…” began Ricky thinking through his words. “What made you turn to the Lord?” The words shocked Luke. He was expecting Ricky to gloat about the party or who said what and what he missed out on.
“It was a song that caught my attention,” he answered.
“My grandmother died last night,” said Ricky. “Her last wish is that I would listen to you.” Ricky’s grandmother was a member of the church Luke started attending. After Luke taught a class this pasted Sunday, she invited him to her house to dine with her and a few others his age. The news was sad to him, but also surprising.
“I’m sorry.”
“What’s the song?”

Oh Lord I need a mountain to climb on
Just a quiet place to go and know you’re there
Oh Lord I need to spend so time with you
Spend the night with you dear Lord in prayer

And the greatest friend you’ll ever find
Is on a lonely mountain
And the highest high you’ll ever feel
Is when you kneel to pray
And the brightest light you’ll ever see
Is when you close your eyes
Oh Lord you are my first love,
At last I realized.

Oh Lord I thought the day would never dawn
When I laid my burdens down and walked with you
But this morning as I met the rising sun
I felt dear Lord my dreams had all came true.

And the greatest friend you’ll ever find
Is on a lonely mountain
And the highest high you’ll ever feel
Is when you kneel to pray
And the brightest light you’ll ever see
Is when you close your eyes
Oh Lord you are my first love,
At last I realized.