I have lived in Memphis most of my life. Sure, we moved around a lot inside the city limits when I was a kid. We moved to Iowa for a year, too. But everywhere I have ever lived has had one thing in common. It is flat. Like, flat flat. No mountains. Barely any hills. Nothing but flat land for miles.
I really forget how flat everything is until I travel to other places. When I go to Nashville, it stays flat for about 80 or 90 miles, then you start seeing hills and turns, rivers and lakes. Alabama is the same way. When we visit family down there, it seems like the landscape is flat all the way through Mississippi until you hit the Alabama border, and then it all changes.
There is a drawback to living in such a flat place. No views. You can't really appreciate this until you live somewhere like Memphis. The only real view you get of the city is coming in and out over the bridge. Now, this flat living does make for some great storm watching. You can see a storm come in from miles away. and see lightning get brighter as it gets closer. But other than that, there isn't really anything to look forward to when it comes to enjoying the landscape.
It is different in the mountains. Everywhere we went we seemed to get a spectacular view of something. People take advantage of these beautiful views. There are houses and cabins strategically located everywhere. Trees get cleared to provide a view of a lake from the front porch. Houses are built into the side of mountains just to get a perfect view of a river from the balcony. Observation decks were built, towers were constructed, and seating was placed for visitors in public places to enjoy many of the views. I saw some breathtaking scenery, some beautiful waterfalls, majestic and tall mountains, and I was blown away by it all. My friends and I often caught ourselves saying, "This would be a perfect place for a house."
There are times in my life where I feel like something is wrong. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I know something is missing. I try to fill that void several ways. I play video games. I read a book. I get on social media and fall down a wormhole of youtube videos or facebook posts. I watch TV. But I can't just seem to shake the feeling that I am really missing something. My head feels cloudy. I am just not happy. The things I do to fill the void are fun, but a bit monotonous. I wake up, work, come home, do my nightly routine, go to bed. Wake-up, rinse, repeat.
This is flat living.
There is nothing to see or do because, let's face it, we weren't meant to live life in a flat way. We were made for mountains. We were made to dwell on a holy hills. When we settle on flat living, we miss out on the spectacular views of life God meant for us to have. We miss the beautiful things He is doing. We miss the unbelievable things He has done. Sure, we can see when the storms of life come and go, but who wants to live life storm watching? I want to see life in a much better way. I want to be in the company of God. I want to to experience His protection and His holiness. I want to be consumed by Him in such a way, that I can see bigger and better things. Flat living is my way of life. Mountain dwelling is living in Him. That is a much better way.
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