Vacation (Part Deux)

I sure wish that I could say that our vacation to the South Georgia mountains was relaxing. But, I cannot. However, it was a time where I was able to spend some time communing with nature and with God and preparing myself for some of the things that lie ahead.

I know that most who know me will find this hard to believe, but I love to hike in the woods. Now, don't ask me to camp where I have to sleep with the creepy critters that live in the woods, but I love to walk for miles at a time, especially if I am alone (I know, that probably is a surprise to most of you as well.) I like the solitude. But I like solitude with motion. I guess that is one of the things I like about being out on the ocean in a boat as well. And, it probably explains why I use my time in the car to have some quiet time with God. No radio, cell phone, etc. Just quiet...with motion.

I had the opportunity to spend quite a bit of time hiking alone in the woods this vacation. It gave me time to think, plan, and just talk to God. It was easy to see why David liked the wilderness so much and why he wrote so much in the psalms about communing with God while in nature. I came up with a lot of great things that I wanted to write down and share with you while I was in the woods, but it just didn't seem right to take my laptop with me so I could write them all down. (And those of you who have seen my handwriting know that if I had written it out, I would have no idea what it said by the time I returned to the cabin.) However, I did remember a few random thoughts, so here they are:

1. First, it is good to get alone in nature (woods, beach, ocean, desert, etc) where you and God can talk uninturrupted. While I believe that God has allowed man to evolve into the the sophisticated technological people we are today, I believe He likes it when we get back to the things that only He could create. It is one of the ways in which he speaks to us and it can be very special.

2. While hiking I came to a campsite by a stream. Named "Bethel" which means "House of God", the site was a clearing in the woods next to a cool running stream. (See the photo at the top of the blog.) I stoped at Bethel and was refreshed, not just by the cool water and place to sit and rest my weary body, but by the time that I spent with God in that place.

3. As I have said before, God is funny to me. We talk about the scriptures being His "Living Word", but what does that mean? What that means to me is that every time I read the Bible I find something that applies to my life THAT DAY. How is it that words written centuries ago could be that applicible today? The scriptures are God's living word. During many of my hikes I had the opportunity to encounter deer. Sometimes I would get to see them. Other times I could just hear them in the distance. On many occasions, I would hear the deer first, but only after I heard the sound of running water. Immediatly, the psalm "as the deer pants for water" came to mind and I repeated it in my head over and over. And, because God has a sense of humor about him and because the scriptures are the Living Word, that very psalm was in my scheduled devotional reading the next morning. "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God." What great words. But how greater still are they when you are walking through the woods in the heat of the day and long for the sound of cool running water. I hope that on a daily basis, my soul is as thirsty for God as the deer are for a drink from a cool stream.

4. As I have said before, Warm Springs is a very special place for our family. The people there are wonderful and I learned a lot from the pastor at FBC Warm Springs, Bob Patterson. We visited the small house on the hill were we lived, we visited the church where we were loved and encouraged by many wonderful people, and we visited our favorite places on the mountain where we will always be reminded of that time in our lives. We are grateful that Warm Springs will always be a place of physical and spiritual renewal. As Mr. Edwin Self said to me, "It's nice to go back and visit the place where it all started, isn't it?" It sure is, Mr. Edwin. It sure is.

And, just so you won't think that I took our vacation to hide from the family, we had a wonderful time together. I don't think we ever laugh more than when we are all together. We played games, roasted marshmallows, ate lots of ice cream, and talked a lot about what might lie ahead of us in Russia. Whatever it may be, we will face it as a family and surrounded by the grace of God. I don't know about you, but I kinda like those odds.

Blessings,
Marc