Princeton? Conquered.

Well, yesterday I climbed a mountain. And this was a legit mountain. Cuz the summit was above tree line! I didn't even know what that meant until I was like oh, there are no trees up here...lolz. It was 14,204 feet! If you're hip with the lingo you'd call that a fourteener. And that's like a pretty big deal.

IT WAS AWESOME.

First of all, it was absolutely gorgeous. The amazing view of the Rockies surrounding us, the view of the top of Mount Princeton that kept us pushing upward, the bluest sky I have ever seen, and the occasional patch of wild flowers growing oddly between the rocks. It reminds me so much of something I just read in the book Captivating:

"Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful."

It is meant to astound us! What other use do flowers and mountains and sunsets and stars have other than to shout GOD IS GLORIOUS over and over? My discipler/friend/love of my life Dayna and I were saying that it was really cool that even people who don't know the LORD appreciate his beauty. And we concluded that probably the only reason they do is because they're seeing HIM when they see his work.

Every time the wind nearly knocked me over while I teetered on an unsteady rock, I just thought to myself "My God is in control of this - and he is definitely showing off his power right now." When I got out of my tent in the middle of the night to pee in the woods and I looked above my head, the sight of the countless stars took my breath away. And doesn't the LORD love to do that? It's a gift that my eyes got to see that! And when I cherish that gift, it gives even more glory to the Giver.

As I made my way up the eight miles of winding, rocky, windy trail, I realized something pretty sweet. I have to trust God with my every step. I could have so easily slipped on a loose rock or slid down a snowy cliff or just like passed out from exhaustion - but He provided for me safe footing and sturdy rocks to cling to and someone's footsteps to follow and energy from who knows where. I was honestly scared to death at some points, and I was seriously questioning what the heck I had gotten myself into when it was hard to breath after the first quarter of a mile. But my God gave me strength and just enough oxygen to make it to that summit (and all the way back down...which definitely wasn't as easy as I thought it would be...)

And isn't that just like life? If it was easy, we wouldn't need Him. If we were strong enough, we wouldn't have to put our trust in Him. If nature was all function, we would miss those glorious glimpses of His beauty.

Ponder that, children.

So that was my FANTASTIC weekend :)
I miss you all lots and lots! And I wish you were here to see all this with me!

Holy Holy Holy is the LORD; the whole earth is full of his glory.
(If you're lookin for something cool to read, check out Isaiah 6)