Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai is renowned as the principal site of divine revelation in Jewish history, where God is purported to have appeared to Moses and given him the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5).

April 1st, 2025, Morning – Home

Dear God, this prayer is no joke. I’m so off my game right now. Between being sick and all this crazy weather, on top of everything else, I don’t feel like myself. I need help. Amen.

Moses never felt prepared for what God asked him to do. But he showed up and he did it nonetheless. Most days, I don’t feel qualified to do what I’ve been asked.

Waiting for my person is hard.

Teaching is hard.

Healing is hard.

Not giving into temptation or fear is hard.

But I still show up.

God hasn’t spoken to me in a burning bush yet, but he finds his ways.

When I started hiking I never expected those hikes to turn into prayer walks.

But they have.

And my favorite spot? A hill in Maury County that I have deemed my Mount Sinai.

Granted, it’s nowhere near as high as the true Mount Sinai, but it was the first hill I hiked here and it has become my place of divine revelation.

Whenever I have a problem or concern, I take it literally uphill to God.

It all feels very biblical. Most people in the bible, including Jesus himself, took their prayers up a mountain. It puts us “physically” closer to God, but I believe it’s more symbolic than that. It’s a journey. I sit in church and ask for the same things, but adding the hike to the prayers makes them feel stronger. They are things so close to my heart that I gladly make the trek up the hill to ensure God hears me loud and clear.

The top of my “mountain” is covered in bushes, butterflies, and in the spring and summer, flowers. Today, I arrived at the top to find it cleared of everything. Perhaps, they routinely clear the brush to ensure healthy growth, I thought, but I still felt a sense of sadness and loss. My mountain had changed.

Then, I looked around and saw several butterflies chasing after each other. The mountain may look different, but it is still there. I realized with all the brush clear, I could go off the trail and reach the actual tallest part of the hill. So I did. And that view offered me a whole new perspective and a distinct answer to the prayer request I had taken up there with me.

April 1st, 2025, Afternoon – Mount Sinai

Dear God, you have brought me so far in the last few years. I’m so blessed that you cared enough about me to help me get out of all the situations that were damaging my life spiritually, physically, and emotionally. I’m grateful for the life I have now, but it is changing, again. The last time you needed me to make a big change, everything fell apart. My health, my marriage, and eventually my job. Every part of my life changed from 2021-2022. I was scared that everything was over, when in reality, you had to destroy my current circumstances to make way for something better. Well, you’re doing it again. Since December, everything has been falling apart. But my body and spirit have reacted differently this time. Now, I see the destruction as a sign. A big, beautiful signal that I will be making another shift, and soon. I came up here today to ask for confirmation that what has been on my heart is the right, next step. Please Lord, help me to make the best choice that aligns with your will and purpose for my life. Please don’t let me be afraid of everything changing again. The last change was good, and I think this one may be even better. Thank you for looking out for me. Amen.

I’m not saying my way of praying is the best choice, you have to do what feels right for you, but I can say there is true power in carrying your prayers up to God.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.

-Proverbs 3: 5-6