Winds of the Himalayas

The Day God Sang over Me

What does one do when all has been (seemingly) lost? What does one do, where does one turn, to whom does one run, how does one go on? These are the questions I was asking myself during the life crisis I described in my last blog, Along Right Paths (September 6, 2022) jackietallent.com/2022/09/06/along-right-paths/.

There were many more questions, so many questions. I had been leading a thriving outreach to the children of my community. I had, along with ministry teams, made several treks through the Nepali Himalayas, one of the most fulfilling and exhilarating things I have ever been a part of. My head and heart were filled with myriads of dreams and hopes and visions of serving God and touching lives of the poor and hurting and those who had never heard the Good News of peace and freedom that is offered to all. But in an instant it was all lost. “What about all of that?” I wondered. Had I just made it all up? Had I ever actually heard from God? Where was God in it all? Why and how could he do this to me, to my calling, to my hopes and dreams? Were they even from him at all? Had he ever even spoken to me? I was not angry at God but I was very broken and confused; I was devastated. I thought I had understood where he was leading me but now it was ripped from my hands. The inner pain was excruciating.

It felt as if God were done with me yet at the same time he was all I had, the only one I could turn to, and all I could do was press into him..and ask him my questions.  One morning I woke up and the house was empty.  It was a chilly Alaskan November morning and I had nothing to do and no reason to get out of bed.  So I just stayed there under my cozy down comforter drifting in and out of sleep for maybe a couple of hours with all of those questions swirling around in my head.  And then at one point while I was dozing a dream came to me that was clear and powerful.  A man was singing to me a beautiful love song.  His song was comforting yet passionate and in the dream I felt peaceful, protected and safe, loved.  So loved.  Suddenly in my dream I realized that the man was Jesus.  Thinking “It’s Jesus!  I’ve got to remember the words!” my mind grasped onto the last line he was singing and immediately I was wide awake.  “You will once again walk on the winds of the Himalayas,” were the lyrics he had sung to me.

Those simple words, so few, so simple, so beautifully poetic took care of all of my questions. No, there was no specific answer. But there was hope. There was promise. And there was a sense of love in extravagant abundance. I still didn’t understand the whys or the hows. I still didn’t know the future but I knew that he had indeed placed a call on my life and that calling wasn’t lost; it hadn’t been taken away from me. I felt reassured that my vision and my dreams were valid and God-given. “His gifts and callings are without repentance,” became a reality to me. Many hard days still lay ahead and it was years before my feet once again stood on a South Asian peak, but as promised they eventually did and through it all I had God’s guiding peace; I had renewed confidence in his total, no-matter-what love; and I had his promise, “You will once again walk on the winds of the Himalayas.”

How has God taken your hand and walked with you through difficult times? I would love to hear your story.

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV

• 
  The CollapseOctober 6, 2025
  October 7, 2018.  7 years ago today I left India, so weak I struggled to even board a plane to Bangkok while keeping my possessions together. Passport, wallet, phone, backpack, carryon, passport, wallet, phone, backpack, carryon was my mantra untilContinue reading “The Collapse”
• 
  Let All Creation PraiseJuly 6, 2025
  I was euphoric as two friends and I loaded our belongings onto the roof of a taxi that cool April morning.  Dawn was breaking and it would be an incredibly gorgeous Himalayan day.  I was embarking onto a new venture,Continue reading “Let All Creation Praise”
• 
  Winds of the Himalaya – Part 30September 26, 2024
  That One Time We Had to Build a Bridge to Get Home Lete was the last post in my journal.  I am not sure why, likely because I was, after nearly two months, exhausted.  Dates and such in this postContinue reading “Winds of the Himalaya – Part 30”
• 
  Winds of the Himalaya – Part 29September 19, 2024
  Jomsom to Lete Saturday, July 14, 2001, was a long, hard day but the view was incredible and the trek was full of joy and laughter.  We set out from Jomsom at 9:00 am.  The first leg of our trekContinue reading “Winds of the Himalaya – Part 29”
• 
  Winds of the Himalaya – Part 28September 16, 2024
  Kagbeni to Muktinath After breakfast we headed north for the four-hour trek to Muktinath.  That stretch is all uphill [Kagbeni – 9200 ft, (2804 m), Muktinath – 12,343 ft (3762 m)] but not so steep as I had expected.  There,Continue reading “Winds of the Himalaya – Part 28”