Truths from the Trail: Nature

Many travelers say Antarctica changes you in ways that are difficult to explain until you experience it yourself. The remote continent strips away the noise of modern life with its vast silence, dramatic landscapes, and incredible wildlife. For many visitors, the experience brings not only awe but a deep sense of perspective about life, nature, and even faith.

As I was hiking, I couldn’t help but think of how we were there a few weeks too early. Yes, we were getting part of the larch experience, but not the peak. There was still so much of the mountainside left to change. I also knew that I wouldn’t get to see the mountain in its prime. I knew that there was more than what I was experiencing now; that the best was still to come. And in that moment, God reminded me that life is full of “not yet” seasons-times when His plan is still

As I continued to walk, God revealed to me how answered prayers were much like the hike I was on. David prayed in Psalm 69, “But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness” (Psalm 69:13 ESV). Rarely are the answers to our prayers instantaneous, but rather in God’s perfect timing. Often the waiting will feel like an uphill climb.

On a recent hike on Mt Rainier, I was contemplating how seeing the mountain is a lot like sensing the presence of God. There are times when we acutely perceive his presence. We feel his love in a nearly tangible way. It is like he is all around us, in his glory, impossible to ignore.  We live differently in times like that.  Yet, there are other times when his presence is clouded. We forget his love for us.  In these times, the fact that we can’t see him makes us forget abo

I am beginning to wonder what would happen if we started to keep our own list of what God has done for us personally and for those close to us?  If we had such a list and, most importantly, regularly returned to it, reciting it from our hearts, how much more would we learn to trust in God? If, during hard times, we recited all of the previous ways that God came through for us, I believe our life path might feel easier.