The story of the young woman on the cover; life is a journey
A story of spiritual ascent
Alyssa stood on the mountain's peak, the first rays of sunlight painting the sky in fiery hues of gold and crimson. The air was thin and crisp, and the world below seemed to vanish into a sea of clouds. This physical climb was her ritual, a way to ground herself in the very metaphor she was living out. Her copy of Climbing the Mountain of God was tucked into her pack, its pages dog-eared and marked with notes.
The book, as Bishop Keith Dalby had so accurately put it, was a treasure chest of ideas. It had arrived in Alyssa’s life at a moment of profound spiritual questioning, a period when the faith she had grown up with felt more like a cage than a path. The author, James Harlow Brown, didn't offer a rigid doctrine. Instead, he presented a fresh perspective on God’s adventure with humanity, an invitation to see the world not just from a human viewpoint, but from a divine one.
Alyssa found herself drawn to the book’s core assertion: you can’t fully grasp what it means to be human unless you see things from God’s perspective. It was a radical idea, a challenge to her ingrained habits of thought. She had to personally climb his mountain to learn who God truly is, a process that couldn't be achieved by simply reading about it. The book was a map, not the journey itself. It also stressed a point that resonated deeply with her: you could not ascend alone. The spiritual journey, like her physical one, must be done in fellowship with others.
And so, Alyssa had started a small group, a collection of souls with diverse backgrounds and beliefs. They met weekly, using the book to help them explore their beliefs about 10 key spiritual questions. Their conversations were a beautiful chaos of shared experiences and differing perspectives. They argued, laughed, and sometimes fell silent, truly listening to each other for the first time. It was only through these honest conversations with others that Alyssa felt she was gaining a clearer understanding of her own beliefs.
The book wasn't about finding definitive answers, but about sparking discussion around humanity's most profound questions: Who is God? What does my life mean? What happens after death? Alyssa didn't have all the answers, but she no longer felt lost. The fellowship had become a lifeline, a collective spiritual climb. Looking out at the sunrise, a profound sense of peace settled over her. It was a peace born not from certainty, but from the shared struggle of seeking. She finally understood why Julian of Norwich had said, “All shall be well.” It wasn’t a promise that every moment would be easy, but a quiet assurance that the adventure itself, undertaken with God and with others, was the very point of it all.
