Do you know what I mean when I say it was a perfect vacation?
It was with the very best people. It was as if for one beautiful week our souls had been fused together, our reunion held us tight.
It was in the most beautiful of places. Surrounded by waterfalls speaking to my heart and beautiful mountains calling our names.
It was lovely. There was laughter constantly in the air, the fresh aroma of memories being created, and the sweetness of adventure.
Do you know?
And how good is my God who gifted me this precious time, these sweet hours to be forever etched in my heart. It was the beginning of the summer when he promised my heart excitement. Disappointed for my initial plans of travel fell through, he planned bigger. He whispered, "Unexpected adventure and unexpected friendship." Straight to my soul, in the part that was the most needing, the most hungry for those things.
The friendship came in the most expected place that I suspected it the least. And it was gentle, a soul connection, one heart tied to another instantaneously as if we were born to know one another.
The adventure came from a quick text, a perusal on Kayak Flights, and a stash of saved tips and babysitting money hidden in my drawer. And it was unexpected and freeing and brilliant all at the same time.
I found a flight and it was cheap, a one way ticket to adventure. My friend answered my text, Yes, always down for an adventure. People seemed concerned, telling me I would need to budget more than I planned, did I really think I could afford this? Was this worth my money?
My heart fashioned for adventure seemed to care less about their silly concerns. The summer took forever to get to the day when I stepped on the plane. And then I was there, 30,000 feet in the sky, my heart even higher.
And I wonder, now that it's over, now that I'm deep in the blues of post-adventure depression, I wonder what God was teaching me on that sweet adventure. Day 1 began with some hikes to some beautiful waterfalls. The water was ice, but we had a picnic on a rock and I'll have to say that my lunch view was better than yours. We saw the sundial bridge, and drove the car flipping pennies, heads right, tails left, to tell us our final destination.
Burney falls was stupendous. Gallons of water pouring all over the sides and into the mountain and out strange locations, the water still crystal clear. But my thirst was quenched at the Hatchet Creek Falls. There is something about floating on a log and underneath a waterfall that filled my soul which overflowed. My head fell back in laughter as Rachel screamed, "I don't want to be on the side that goes under the waterfall." But all I wanted was to keep going as Amos pushed us under the flow of the falls.
Mt. Shasta is stunning. As I looked up admiring it's beauty and wondered if maybe this was the type of mountain Jesus was talking about when he said our faith can move mountains. Because on the sides of it's steep hills, there were gentle streams of melting snow and flourishing wildflowers that had a Psalm 23 feel. The Lord is my shepherd and I have no want. He leads me beside these still waters and makes me lie down in green pastures.
The Redwoods were beyond comparison. Around every curve in the trail, audible "Wows" were whispered out of my mouth, immediately followed by the clunk of my water bottle as I scurried into a tree or ran to try and wrap my arms around it. We walked for hours and it still didn't get old. We walked until exhaustion demanded we find the car and our giggles were a sure sign we were entering the stage of the sleepy laughter.
Driving way too fast down back curvy roads late at night with Adele serenading us on max volume and laughing until you can't breathe because of the differences between pigs and flamingos. Some people call it reckless, but I call it living. These are the moments I live for, these are the memories I'll treasure. It is these moments I'll try to explain to you, but they are my memories and mean more to me then you'll ever know.
California was the adventure of a lifetime. It was worth every penny I spent. I think travel does something to me. It's a virus in my blood, but it has done nothing to harm me, instead it has strengthened me, taught me and grown me in incredible ways. God's voice is so much louder when I'm in new places and my heart feels alive as I stand small next to ancient trees and in awe in front of magnificent mountains. I see his Father heart when my friends speak encouragement into my life and God speaks through them to show me how to live my life more for him. The travel bug is in my heart and I can't get it out. So if every adventure begins with such a high and ends with a deep longing to return but fulfills me like this one, then keep taking me.
Travel changes my perspective. It is unexpected and vibrant and brilliant and I think it is so much like the God I serve. Oh how intimately he knows my heart. Inside and out. How wonderful that he treasures me so well that he provides these adventures. He knows each intimate part of me. He knows I need road trips and laughter. He knows that he created my heart without borders. And he knows I need planes and cars, waterfalls and mountains. Heat and cold. He knows I need change or my heart becomes restless, I drown in these ritualistic days.
I found a flight and it was cheap, a one way ticket to adventure. My friend answered my text, Yes, always down for an adventure. People seemed concerned, telling me I would need to budget more than I planned, did I really think I could afford this? Was this worth my money?
My heart fashioned for adventure seemed to care less about their silly concerns. The summer took forever to get to the day when I stepped on the plane. And then I was there, 30,000 feet in the sky, my heart even higher.
And I wonder, now that it's over, now that I'm deep in the blues of post-adventure depression, I wonder what God was teaching me on that sweet adventure. Day 1 began with some hikes to some beautiful waterfalls. The water was ice, but we had a picnic on a rock and I'll have to say that my lunch view was better than yours. We saw the sundial bridge, and drove the car flipping pennies, heads right, tails left, to tell us our final destination.
Burney falls was stupendous. Gallons of water pouring all over the sides and into the mountain and out strange locations, the water still crystal clear. But my thirst was quenched at the Hatchet Creek Falls. There is something about floating on a log and underneath a waterfall that filled my soul which overflowed. My head fell back in laughter as Rachel screamed, "I don't want to be on the side that goes under the waterfall." But all I wanted was to keep going as Amos pushed us under the flow of the falls.
Mt. Shasta is stunning. As I looked up admiring it's beauty and wondered if maybe this was the type of mountain Jesus was talking about when he said our faith can move mountains. Because on the sides of it's steep hills, there were gentle streams of melting snow and flourishing wildflowers that had a Psalm 23 feel. The Lord is my shepherd and I have no want. He leads me beside these still waters and makes me lie down in green pastures.
The Redwoods were beyond comparison. Around every curve in the trail, audible "Wows" were whispered out of my mouth, immediately followed by the clunk of my water bottle as I scurried into a tree or ran to try and wrap my arms around it. We walked for hours and it still didn't get old. We walked until exhaustion demanded we find the car and our giggles were a sure sign we were entering the stage of the sleepy laughter.
Driving way too fast down back curvy roads late at night with Adele serenading us on max volume and laughing until you can't breathe because of the differences between pigs and flamingos. Some people call it reckless, but I call it living. These are the moments I live for, these are the memories I'll treasure. It is these moments I'll try to explain to you, but they are my memories and mean more to me then you'll ever know.
California was the adventure of a lifetime. It was worth every penny I spent. I think travel does something to me. It's a virus in my blood, but it has done nothing to harm me, instead it has strengthened me, taught me and grown me in incredible ways. God's voice is so much louder when I'm in new places and my heart feels alive as I stand small next to ancient trees and in awe in front of magnificent mountains. I see his Father heart when my friends speak encouragement into my life and God speaks through them to show me how to live my life more for him. The travel bug is in my heart and I can't get it out. So if every adventure begins with such a high and ends with a deep longing to return but fulfills me like this one, then keep taking me.
Travel changes my perspective. It is unexpected and vibrant and brilliant and I think it is so much like the God I serve. Oh how intimately he knows my heart. Inside and out. How wonderful that he treasures me so well that he provides these adventures. He knows each intimate part of me. He knows I need road trips and laughter. He knows that he created my heart without borders. And he knows I need planes and cars, waterfalls and mountains. Heat and cold. He knows I need change or my heart becomes restless, I drown in these ritualistic days.
California
was a gift. Sometimes God needs not say anything to me. Instead, he
wraps these elegant gifts. They are packaged in priceless friends and
breathtaking memories. California was God's reminder to me of how he
truly loves me, he intimately knows me and he treasures me.
So I guess I wrote this to help me cope with the wanting to return, but I also wrote it for you. I want you to experience life to the fullest the way I do, I want you to jump off of waterfalls, buy plane tickets spontaneously, hike mountains and touch the coast on the other side of the world. I know a God and he is good all the time, and he is constant and faithful but he is unexpected and surprising. And with all my heart, I want you to know him too because he embarks on the most exciting of adventures with us. Life.
So I guess I wrote this to help me cope with the wanting to return, but I also wrote it for you. I want you to experience life to the fullest the way I do, I want you to jump off of waterfalls, buy plane tickets spontaneously, hike mountains and touch the coast on the other side of the world. I know a God and he is good all the time, and he is constant and faithful but he is unexpected and surprising. And with all my heart, I want you to know him too because he embarks on the most exciting of adventures with us. Life.
