The Girl, the Mountain Goat and the Promise
LISTEN: (5 min, 21 sec)
‘HE MAKES MY FEET like those of a deer and enables me to climb on mountain heights.”
Those words echoed through my head as I watched my daughter Faith take photos of a beautiful Rocky Mountain goat at 14,000 feet in Colorado.
We live at 14 feet elevation on the Texas Coast, so being 1,000 times higher is like stepping into another world, a place of stunning beauty and unlimited possibility.
Seventeen years ago, we got word about an opportunity to adopt a little girl who at age two couldn’t walk or talk and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. I felt this was the child we had prayed for, but I needed confirmation.
So, I did what all great spiritual people do (not)—I played Bible roulette.
I walked over to my Bible and picked it up.
“Lord, you know me. I am hardheaded and sometimes cannot see things the way you want me to see them. I am on faith going to open up this Bible and believe the page I land on is the place that will give me confirmation this is our girl or is not. I do not need a cryptic answer but a direct one Lord.”
With some apprehension, I sort of flipped the Bible open and flung it down on my table.
At first, I thought it landed on a blank page, but I quickly realized it was on a page with only one verse, and it was the very end of the book.
“Yahweh, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like those of a deer and enables me to climb mountain heights.”
I was stunned.
I read those words over and over as tears rolled down my face and I felt the presence of the Lord in an incredibly profound, powerful way.
I knew she would walk. I knew she would talk. And I know God had special things to be done through her.
Over the years we have faced many challenges, especially emotional ones. There were times it looked like the full promise of “mountain heights” might not happen.
There were times I cried myself to sleep seeing the challenges she was going through at a young age.
There were times my wife Lisa and I were frustrated and exhausted, but we had a promise, and we stood on it.
We prayed that promise through and stood on God’s word that this precious child would climb on mountain heights physically, mentally and spiritually.
As she turned back to me on Mount Blue Sky I snapped back into the present and could see her beaming with pride.
“Dad, I got a really good picture. Look!”
This was in the cell phone photography category and thankfully this one mountain goat was in a perfect position, in good light and Faith has a great eye for composition and capturing little moments.
“Look at this one. It looks like he’s talking to me.”
Faith Moore photographed this mountain goat at 14,500 feet in Colorado.
(Photo: Faith Moore)
That photo was entered into a national fine arts competition for Assemblies of God churches around the nation. Both her cell and digital photo (of an elk) earned her an invite to national competition in Columbus, OH.
In front of 15,000 people at Nationwide Arena, Faith learned that her mountain goat photo not only received a “superior” rating but earned her the top photo and the prestigious “Award of Merit” and a scholarship.
Out of a possible three judge rating of 120, she earned 119 points, which is super rare in these competitions.
Faith is not the most emotional young lady, but she broke down and cried when she heard the announcement and received the support of her fellow Community Church (C-Student) youth group members. It was a huge moment for her and for our family.
A child that wasn’t supposed to walk or talk was in front of thousands of people taking home a serious award for a photo she took at 14,000 feet in Colorado.
That certainly qualifies as “mountain heights” to the literal zenith of its meaning.
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And it was an important moment for us as a family for another reason. She won for wildlife photography and as a family of dedicated wildlife conservationists, this was special.
We love mountain goats and are members of the Rocky Mountain Goat Alliance, a group dedicated to their conservation. And we are members of the Wild Sheep Foundation and Texas Bighorn Society, groups dedicated to wild sheep which we also photographed on that same mountain on that trip.
Faith Moore made me very proud with her awesome photo and winning at such a high level.
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But more importantly, she’s made me proud because of who she is and doing her part to work hard and contribute to conservation.
At the time of this writing, we got word she qualified for nationals again and for a photo of a Rocky Mountain bighorn she photographed near our beloved Estes Park, CO.
We look forward to seeing what great things come through her in the future and remain in awe of seeing the promise over her fulfilled.
No matter the odds against a kid in your life never give up on them. Never. Great things can happen for them and through them.
And the great outdoors is a wonderful place to create mentoring relationships that can help make their dreams a reality.
Email Chester Moore at cmoore@fishgame.com
