As I sit atop the Poconos Mountains, surrounded by tall trees, quiet paths and a little brook that seems to whisper rather than speak, I feel a peace that I wish I could pack into my suitcase.

Perhaps I could fold it carefully between two shirts, place happiness beside my socks, and carry the silence in my hand luggage.

But airport security might stop me.

“What is inside this bag, sir?”

“Peace.”

“Please remove it and place it in the tray!”

Yet the truth is that very soon I will leave this mountain and return to the valley of normal life. There will be deadlines, telephone calls, traffic, worries, arguments and people who believe that the horn of their car was invented to bring down the walls of Jericho.

And I wonder whether the peace I feel here will disappear when I descend.

It reminds me of the Transfiguration of Jesus, described in Matthew 17:1 to 8. Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain. There, His face shone like the sun, His clothes became dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Him.

Peter was overwhelmed.

“Lord, it is good for us to be here,” he said. “If you wish, I will put up three shelters.”

In other words, Peter wanted to stay.

I understand him completely.

When life gives us a mountaintop experience, we immediately start looking for a builder. We want to construct a cottage, put up curtains, install WiFi and remain there forever.

We want the retreat never to end. We want the holiday to continue. We want the prayer meeting, the beautiful music, the glorious sunset and the feeling of God’s presence to last forever.

But Jesus led the disciples down the mountain.

The mountain was not given to them as an escape from life. It was given to prepare them for life.

That is the lesson I carry from the Poconos.

God does not expect me to leave His peace behind among the trees. He wants me to carry the mountain into the valley.

The same God who sat beside me near the brook will sit beside me in the traffic. The same God who spoke through the silence will speak through the noise. The same hand that held mine on the mountaintop will not release it when the path goes downward.

Perhaps that is why God gives us mountaintop moments. They are not permanent addresses. They are provisions for the journey ahead.

So when the valley appears, do not look back sadly at the mountain.

Carry it with you.

Because the God you saw and felt on the mountaintop is already waiting for you in the valley below…!

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