“Acclimate“
by: Rachel Beam

Because we are lucky enough to live in Colorado, we have the ability to understand and appreciate mountains. We are surrounded by peaks that are upwards of 14,000 feet in elevation. We can drive to the top of Pikes Peak or summit a 14er in a few hours. However, our familiar peaks pale in comparison to Mount Everest.

Mount Everest is 29,035 feet tall. The youngest to reach the top of Everest was Jordan Romero, age 13. The oldest to summit was Miura Yiuchiro, age 80. Young and old alike all start at one place: BASECAMP.

There are many purposes for spending the required 4-8 weeks at BASECAMP, the primary reason being to acclimate.

ACCLIMATE: to accustom or become accustomed to a new climate or environment; adapt.

Spending time at this higher elevation gives the body time to produce more red blood cells in order to circulate more oxygen to the body, and to “become accustomed to” the high altitude.

Just as our red blood cells naturally reproduce when put in a high-altitude environment, faith naturally reproduces when we enter into God’s presence.

Wherever we are on our journey of faith, whether we are new to “this whole Jesus thing” or whether we have grown up in the church, something happens when we seek the Lord and He shows up and shows off. When we gather as a family and worship or we passionately seek Him in the Secret Place, the faith, knowledge, and maturity we have grows and multiplies.

Amos 4:13
For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The LORD God of hosts is His name.

We have a BIG God that is moving really powerfully in our lives and the lives of the people around us. Every time we see a healing, encounter Him in worship, have a conversation with someone else about how good He is, go to Chick-Fil-A after youth, or hear His voice, FAITH MULTIPLIES. As we become accustomed to what He is doing and align ourselves with Him, we will see even bigger things than we could ask for or imagine.