Sunrise Mountain

With clenched fists, and a knot the size of a golf ball in his throat, Isaac Livingston wiped the remaining soda off his face. Just moments before, it had been inside the can he held. Sneers and cruel laughter from the gathering crowd cut through him like bolts of lightning on a dark rainy night. His heart raced like that of a frightened rabbit, while his lungs barely had enough time to gulp in air as he began to hyperventilate.
“What’s wrong, Livingston, spill your drink?” sneered Billy Pratt, the school bully.
“Why’d you do that, Billy? I’ve done nothing to you,” gasped Isaac.
“You know, Livingston, as I walked up close to you, I just knew you needed a bath, and you know why? Because you stink!” bellowed Billy as the hallway once again filled with laughter.
Lunging towards Billy with his fists still clenched, Isaac muttered, “Why, I ought to. . ..”
“You ought to what?” growled Billy while leering at Isaac.
Every muscle in Isaac’s body constricted as the thought of punching Billy in the face raced through his mind. His heart felt as if it would leap right out of his chest. He drew a deep breath. He was very close to losing all the composure he had tried so hard to maintain.
Isaac was a head taller than Billy, measuring six feet and weighing in at about 185 pounds. He would have most likely been able to give him a pretty good beating, but after what seemed like an eternity Isaac wearily sighed, “Ah, never mind. It’s not worth it.”
“I knew you were a wimp. Get out of my face before I rearrange it. Come to think of it, that may be an improvement,” sneered Billy as he walked by, shoving his shoulder into Isaac’s right arm. Glancing down the hallway filled with students hoping to get as much attention as possible, Billy shouted out one last comment that cut deep into Isaac. “Hey Livingston, didn’t you turn into one of those Christians or something? I didn’t think Christians got mad.” Snickering, Billy disappeared through the front doors of the school appearing pleased with himself that he embarrassed Isaac.
Isaac breathed a sigh of relief. He was not afraid of Billy and Billy knew it; the real fight was inside of Isaac. For most of his life, Isaac had carried around on his shoulders a giant chip filled with anger and rage. He had been in many fights at school and was constantly involved in arguments with his parents at home. Since becoming a Christian, however, Isaac had prayed many times for God to remove this great anger. He had managed so far to keep a tight rein on his rage and was feeling good about it, but today it all came boiling back. Isaac would have loved knocking Billy to the ground and beating him to a pulp. He thought God had delivered him from his rage, and realizing he was not free troubled Isaac greatly.
Turning to leave the building, Isaac noticed a pair of emerald eyes staring at him from down the hall beside the lockers. He recognized the young lady immediately. As their eyes met, he noticed a brief smile as she turned to go down the hall. For a moment, he almost forgot about his anger. “Maybe she does like me?” he imagined as he walked toward the front doors of the school. However, walking down the front steps, he saw the crowds of people as they snickered and stared at him, and he once again entered his world of anger and guilt. He thought to himself, “I have let God down, again!”
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Isaac quickly boarded the school bus and headed for home. Pressing his face against the window, he noticed the beautiful fall-colored trees as they flickered in the sunlight. “Why, Lord, why? Why must I go through all this? What have I done that you would allow so many problems into my life? It seems that since I became a Christian, life has gotten tougher rather than easier. I have done all you have asked me to do, yet problems seem to hover over me. Why, Lord, why?”
Longing for a getaway, Isaac knew there was only one place he could go where it would be just him and God, a place that only he knew about. To go to this place, however, he must wait till the wee hours of the morning. Isaac kept to himself at home that evening, not saying much at supper. He went to bed early and excitedly awaited the trip he would make the next morning.
Isaac was up early the next day and quickly completed his chores before grabbing his flashlight and heading out the door. His destination was by far his favorite spot in the world, but it would take a brisk twenty-minute hike to get there.
It was cool and clear on that pre-dawn October morning as Isaac clambered up the side of the knoll. The sweat on his forehead began to feel cold as an early morning breeze glided across the hilltop. Finally reaching the top, he sat shivering on a large outcrop of massive rocks. His large, callused hands drew tightly against his knees, pulling them into his chest to conserve body heat. The memory of the previous day’s disaster at school momentarily faded as he gazed intently into the morning sky, watching the brilliant array of colors chase away the darkness, turning the black valley into a sea of light. Isaac focused on the strongest concentration of light, eagerly awaiting the source of this ever-growing sunrise. Then with greater splendor than all the kings and queens that have ever lived, it appeared, that glorious creation which came into existence when those powerful words were spoken by God, “Let there be light.”