We just returned home from a glorious, relatively unplanned trip (we're really good at this!) to our favorite camping spot in the mountains. This was a wonderful reprieve for me after a very emotionally difficult week. I enjoyed the luxury of a good long cry on the way up the mountain and was able to breathe a sigh of acceptance and relief by the time we had leveled our R.V., made a make-shift lunch, and relished in the absolute solitude of being "just us". THIS is a gift from God.
With our wet spring now making way for the heat of summer, our mountain hideaway was lush and practically fuzzy with green. Butterflies fluttered in front of us at every step -- darting from daisy to daisy and making hasty retreats in and out of the grasses intermingled with golden buttercups. I counted 16 varieties of wildflowers currently in bloom. It was God's garden and beyond anything I could ever recreate.
Just the smell of this place makes me sleepy! Evergreens tower over the grassy meadows, wildflowers abuzz with the sounds of insects, and the flapping leaves of the mountain Aspens below. Our time is spent lazing, reading, napping, eating (always!), talking, playing games ("Apples to Apples" and "Uno" are the favorites), sleeping in, taking long walks, and, above all else, playing in the creek.
This year, Joe and the boys added to the existing dam, allowing for the kids to somewhat "swim" in the freezing creek water. I park my chair along the edge under the shade of overhanging bushes and trees where I watch, intervene when needed, listen, laugh, encourage and rest. It's utterly delightful. I'm always amazed at how the gift of silence allows for the healing of so many wounds.
On this trip, I've been reading Elisabeth Elliott's "The Shaping of a Christian Family". She is one of my favorite authors and serves as a mentor in my life and heart. What beautiful words and memories she has of parents who were utterly devoted to living out their faith in the company of their children. Many of her stories reminded me of what I remember of my own dear Grandparents.
Through this reading and through the quiet prayers of my heart during this time, I am reminded once again to live out obedience as I "make it my ambition to lead a quiet life, minding my own business and working with my hands ... so that my daily life may win the respect of outsiders ..." (I Thess. 4:11-12). I've always loved this verse. It has new meaning for me now. So much of the hurt I've endured in my life would not have occurred had I truly lived this out.
I'm so very thankful that my God is a God of second chances. "His mercies are new every morning" (Lam. 3 23). Too often I have put outside relationships at the center of my daily efforts. In reality, God will work out those details if and when He sees fit. My efforts are fruitless without Him in the lead. My small mission field is ever before me. Lord, help me keep my eyes on them.
He is my Guide, my Protector, my Shield and Defense, my truest Friend. With Him, I need very little else. As I sat in the glory of beauty all around me and cherished these moments with my most treasured possessions, nothing else mattered. To God be the glory.
We just returned home from a glorious, relatively unplanned trip (we're really good at this!) to our favorite camping spot in the mountains. This was a wonderful reprieve for me after a very emotionally difficult week. I enjoyed the luxury of a good long cry on the way up the mountain and was able to breathe a sigh of acceptance and relief by the time we had leveled our R.V., made a make-shift lunch, and relished in the absolute solitude of being "just us". THIS is a gift from God.
With our wet spring now making way for the heat of summer, our mountain hideaway was lush and practically fuzzy with green. Butterflies fluttered in front of us at every step -- darting from daisy to daisy and making hasty retreats in and out of the grasses intermingled with golden buttercups. I counted 16 varieties of wildflowers currently in bloom. It was God's garden and beyond anything I could ever recreate.
Just the smell of this place makes me sleepy! Evergreens tower over the grassy meadows, wildflowers abuzz with the sounds of insects, and the flapping leaves of the mountain Aspens below. Our time is spent lazing, reading, napping, eating (always!), talking, playing games ("Apples to Apples" and "Uno" are the favorites), sleeping in, taking long walks, and, above all else, playing in the creek.
This year, Joe and the boys added to the existing dam, allowing for the kids to somewhat "swim" in the freezing creek water. I park my chair along the edge under the shade of overhanging bushes and trees where I watch, intervene when needed, listen, laugh, encourage and rest. It's utterly delightful. I'm always amazed at how the gift of silence allows for the healing of so many wounds.
On this trip, I've been reading Elisabeth Elliott's "The Shaping of a Christian Family". She is one of my favorite authors and serves as a mentor in my life and heart. What beautiful words and memories she has of parents who were utterly devoted to living out their faith in the company of their children. Many of her stories reminded me of what I remember of my own dear Grandparents.
Through this reading and through the quiet prayers of my heart during this time, I am reminded once again to live out obedience as I "make it my ambition to lead a quiet life, minding my own business and working with my hands ... so that my daily life may win the respect of outsiders ..." (I Thess. 4:11-12). I've always loved this verse. It has new meaning for me now. So much of the hurt I've endured in my life would not have occurred had I truly lived this out.
I'm so very thankful that my God is a God of second chances. "His mercies are new every morning" (Lam. 3 23). Too often I have put outside relationships at the center of my daily efforts. In reality, God will work out those details if and when He sees fit. My efforts are fruitless without Him in the lead. My small mission field is ever before me. Lord, help me keep my eyes on them.
He is my Guide, my Protector, my Shield and Defense, my truest Friend. With Him, I need very little else. As I sat in the glory of beauty all around me and cherished these moments with my most treasured possessions, nothing else mattered. To God be the glory.
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