Muir Mountains Myrrh'seas Mines'trees!
John Muir, the Scottish-born American naturalist and author who is known as the "Father of the National Parks" famously wrote these words in a letter to his sister Sarah, "The mountains are calling and I must go." National Parks across our beautiful country are rich with merchandise heralding these words, beckoning visitors who resonate with Muir's love for the great outdoors, to purchase them and identify themselves as those who long for the peace and beauty of the mountains. Mark me as one of that great company. Though my investment was just in a simple cup, I too felt I needed something in my day to day life that would showcase those words which had become the cry of my heart. But for me, the call of the mountains is both deeper and higher than Muir himself imagined. I don't remember where I was or when it was that I first came upon Muir's mountain quote, but I do remember what immediately came to my mind. Isaiah 52:7, "How beautiful on the MOUNTAINS are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" as well as Matthew 28:18-20, "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All Authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
And so it was that John Muir became to me as John the Baptist, a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord! For many years and with many prayers I have kept these words as the heartbeat of my vision, pumping life into every thought and compelling me always forward, ever onward pressing upward!
Muir's family name means "By The Sea" and further nourishes my imagination, as Habakkuk 2:14 echoes the call of the mountains and beyond with these words, "The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the SEA." The name Muir also brings to my mind The Great Exodus, when God led with a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, Moses and the children of Israel out of Egypt "around by the desert road toward the Red Sea...." It was as they camped "By The Sea" that they realized Pharaoh and his army had pursued them and so they were hemmed in "By The Sea"! It was in this impossible despair that they experienced in astonishment the Lord fight for them as he destroyed their enemies by swallowing them up in the very sea that they had thought would mark their end. Therefore, Muir's name reminds me of the Great & Mighty God who does impossible things to deliver victory to his children!
John Muir was a prolific writer and he left for us many words to gather and ponder and quote. Another well loved line of his, "Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world" is a quote that I came across after having "known" Muir for a very long time. I had already adopted PINECONE as my life motto by then (PINECONE is an acronym for PourINEverything! CheerONEveryone! with IN and ON also being acronyms within an acronym: IN for ImagineNations; ON for OthersNeeds, so these "two-little two-letter but not too-late" words carry discreetly the focus of our imaginations on the needs of others in every nation! POUR is also an acronym, though not capitalized in PINECONE. POUR: PeopleOfUnlimitedResources) so.....you can see why I readily made "Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world" another close campanyon of mine! Muir's "two pines" spurred me to create another PINE acronym to pair (so I would have two pines) with PourINEverything, and so I crafted PINES to be PrayerINEverySecond, as this is what I PINE for more than anything, because I believe when we live the prayer we were taught to pray "Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done, On Earth As It is In Heaven" we will find ourselves in unending worship and prayer, and flowing from our unbroken praise and petition, will be the fruit that remains (as Jesus promises) in the unshakable, everlasting kingdom of heaven, and everything that needs to come into action, will. Prayer is the firm foundation and the flowing fountain that grows the flourishing forrest that produces forever fruit through faithful followers!
On January 13, 2020, in answer to prayer, I was directed in the early morning hours to Psalm 50:10, "For every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." From these lines and verses (and others) along with much thinking and prayer over many years, has come BACK Forrest Fullaunthrop'E! and Muir Mountains Myrrh'seas Mines'trees. I chose the spelling of Mines'trees for Psalm 50:10, with "Mines" as a reminder that everything belongs to our Creator, and "trees" for the picture of the Forrest. Mines'trees is pronounced in the same way and with the same meaning as ministries. The spelling I crafted better fits this vision.
Circling back to Myrrh'seas, myrrh has historically been a spice used in burial and was 1 of 3 costly gifts given to Jesus by the MAGI, along with gold and frankincense. The gift of the bitter spice of myrrh foreshadowed the very reason Jesus came, to give His life a ransom for many and to destroy the works of the devil by defeating sin and hell and conquering death when he rose from what became an empty tomb! Jesus bought with His blood people from every tongue, tribe and nation, to be a kingdom of priests to serve God. Through the ministry of massage, I have had the opportunity to come alongside women who are walking through seasons of deep sorrow and grief, that often unfold into a lifetime of ongoing sorrow and grief, as they await the day that every tear will be wiped away. Through that ministry, and through sorrow and grief of my own, the promise "His mercies are new every morning" has been much relied upon as "myrrh'seas" (which I picture as wave upon wave of bitter tears) have also been my welcome on many new days. There have been days that I "wake up crying" as the sorrow runs so deep that I cannot even open my eyes to the light of morning, without wet grief rushing down my cheeks. Rehearsing his promise of "mercies new every morning" through those tears, I formed the word "myrrh'seas" and in the beautiful way that God brings beauty from ashes, gives the oil of joy for mourning, and garments of praise for the spirit of despair, I have also come to see "Myrrh'seas" as so much more!
Myrrh symbolizes the bitterness of death and the costliness of a redeemed people, purchased with the very life blood of the one who made us in his image, and chose us before the foundation of the world, ordaining us to good works. We are his body, his purchased body, from every tongue, tribe and nation, and from this I have made yet another word picture, through yet another word, Bought'TEA! Bought by the blood of Jesus. TEA! is an acronym of 3 Greek words, Ta Ethne Alleluia! which means "All Peoples Praise The Lord!" There are many of these "all peoples" who have not heard the 'Good News Of Great Joy For All People' like we have---many people of every nation, tribe and tongue, who live "By The Sea" or beyond the sea or who come from a land far away. Many of those people travel and many of those people live among us! Jesus told his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send our workers into his harvest field"....."Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."
Always, there are more and more things for us to see! Or shall I say, Muir & Myrrh!?
