Finals are over. The semester is done. I moved out of my tiny dorm suite, said goodbye to my suitemates. Drove to Colorado with my roomate, Spent a couple days in Boulder. Flew back to NY. Now I'm home.
I love home. I never truly appreciated it until I moved to Long Island for college. At my house in Upstate NY (Alfred, to be exact), I can look out my window almost any night and see a sky full of stars. It's normal to see deer (and plenty of other animals) grazing through our yard. On summer nights, the lightning bugs illuminate the wood line behind our house and right now I can hear crickets singing (quite loudly too!) in the field below my house.
This is the picture of home I long for when all I can see are the city lights around me, when I'm weary from stress and pressures of life, and when I need to think of what seeing God's beauty really means...
I couldn't help but think of this picture of home when I was descending Bear Peak in Colorado just a few days ago. The hike up was one of the most difficult experiences physically that I think I've ever had. It was a really steep hike, and our bodies weren't used to the altitude, or the dryness, or the heat, or any sort of uphill walks (my campus is very very flat), or any physical activity at all as we'd been sitting in the car for 3 days prior. After hours of pressing through the pain and discomfort and singing The David Crowder Band song, "God of Creation"- "God of Creation, Take my breath away" (literally), we made it to the top. The views were stunning. I couldn't help but praise our Creator for such a beautiful place! I just wanted to sit and dwell in the beauty of the nature, but it was time to descend the mountain, and boy was I in for a treat! In other hikes I've done, the hike down is always so much more relaxing and enjoyable then the hike up... but not this time. Scaling down between huge slabs of rock and boulders, bouncing in and out of a creek, and trying to get a footing in the steep slope in the midst of shifting stones while searching for a small tree or branch to grab on to for stability was enormously difficult. We also weren't so wise and forgot to bring a snack with us and so our bodies began to give out slowly. After my concentration could let up a little bit, I couldn't help but think of home- the comfort of my own bed, the simple beauty of the valley, and the smiling faces that make it such a loving and inviting place.
Yes, I was descending one of the most beautiful mountains in the region, but somehow I was still missing the beauty of home. (below is a picture 2/3 of the way to the top)
I guess that's one thing I'm guilty of all too often- not staying in the present moment and enjoying whatever circumstance I may be in. I'm the type of person who's always looking for the next step in life, the next adventure, and the next goal to accomplish. But when I can stop where I'm at and reexamine where I am, I can appreciate how God is still at work although I'm ready for the next thing. When I realized this on my hike down, I was able to continue to see the beauty of nature around me.
So now as I sit and look at the Stars over Alfred NY, I'm ready to watch God work mightily during these last couple weeks of preparation and rest. I look forward to seeing how God will use me here before I leave for Kenya, and I pray that in all I do, His name will be Glorified!
Meeting God in the present,
Mary
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