I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve lived a full life and try to make sense out of what I see and experience. Life cycles through ups and downs, pleasures and pains, stops and goes, ins and outs, hot and cold, news and reviews. This is good and normal. If we’re not cycling, we’re dying or dead. It’s a good thing to remember the peak events of pleasure and anticipate their recurrence. It’s also wise to learn from the low points as we develop a beautiful patina of character—eye-popping goodness.

Dramatic landscape photography often includes abrupt changes in scenery: peaks and valleys, sharp edges and fuzzy fog, sunrises and sunsets, blacks and whites, leading lines and open spaces. In the photograph above, your eye is drawn to the backlit peak. You hardly notice the foreground fence or the distant hills. It takes effort and concentration to notice the details. That’s how we are made.

Our spiritual life is a lot like that. We religiously climb heavenly pursuits. We cry out for a partner in the deep, shadowy valleys of death. We puzzle over contradictions and questionable beliefs. Then, we cycle back to the solid rock knowing that Jesus loves us. We climb the hill to the foot of the cross, fall down, and grasp the feet of a crucified Lord as he lifts us up to be with him in his kingdom today and forevermore. That, my friends, is the ultimate climb to a peak experience. It is more than a lick-and-a-promise. It’s just as real as this pictured peak. See you there. Let’s gladly leave our masks behind and openly live in the light of the Lamb.