Journeys

The infinite beauty of God's creation

It is not uncommon for it to be warm and sunny at the base of Ben Lomond and then to be near blizzard like conditions at the summit of the mountain, thankfully that was not the case yesterday. We set out yesterday morning to climb this beautiful manroe mountain. It was some of the most majestic scenery I have ever seen! It was hard work making it to the summit but the view and the 70 degree temps were well worth all the effort. Over each hill/peak we climbed there was one more majestic view to be seen. It was a surreal feeling and felt at times like I was in a movie. There are honestly no words or pictures to do justice the beauty of this land. I was reminded of a part of a verse in Psalm 27 where it says, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. That is the closest that I can come to describing the scenery.
Coming back down the mountain we encountered some pretty rugged terrain, which made it a little bit more difficult and tricky since I had twisted my ankle about two thirds of the way up. With my family we kind of have an ongoing joke that if someone is going to get hurt or get some sort of strange illness, it will be me. So please pray that my ankle will make a quick and full recovery. I would like to emphasize the quick because in a week we will be starting our six day trek in North umberland, England.
So yesterday I had to keep reminding myself why I chose this particular ywam base to do my training. I chose this one because I wanted to be challenged on more than just one level, more than just being challenged spiritually. Throughout history Christians have endured persecution, refugees have had to flee their homelands, travel many miles to seek safety in a foreign land. The apostle Paul went on many long journeys, many of them not pleasant, to spread the word of Salvation and of Jesus Christ. I know I will never fully understand what all these people have had to endure, but I felt I needed to at least try to understand just a part of it. Yesterday I began to get a glimpse of it. Even though it was frustrating that I had gotten hurt, I knew it was helping me see the bigger picture.

posted by Tonya @ 1:57 AM