Back in September, a family graciously allowed us to use their home in Colorado for a family respite. The first couple days we ooo'd and aww'd at the mountains jutting up into the sky and Kyle pawed through a hiking guide. I could see the wheels turning in his head about the third day in and that evening he announced that we would be taking a "hike." Cajoling me and his brother Derek (who I think was a harder sell), he light-heartedly described a 3 mile in and back hike to the top of the 12,000 foot Mount Buffalo, reading the description of some old cabin ruins we would pass, a boulder field and a mountain goat viewing from the top of the summit. Both myself and his brother (who I think was hesitant about his brother's adventurous schemes- he had been hiking with him his entire life after all and knew instinctively that Kyle's ambition usually overrode his practicality when it came to the outdoors) said yes. The picture he did not paint was that the "3 mile hike" was a nearly a 4,000 foot ascent over 3 miles (actually 5.5 miles out and back roughly) and that the boulder field was a 24% grade (so straight up basically.) We began to tease Kyle, who was bounding up this boulder field. We nicknamed him "Billie Goat Bartholic". Along the way, I also cried once or twice out of sheer terror (I'm not usually afraid of heights, but when you're climbing on a crumbling rock wall with NO HARNESS OR EQUIPMENT, it's enough to shake the bravest of us, ok?) We were huffing and puffing so hard, we missed the cabin ruins entirely and I totally forgot to look for the darn mountain goats at the summit! The view was incredible though and if it weren't for the loud static of the wind whipping around me in the video I shot at the top you would think I was in a helicopter. Instead I was just standing on the tippy-top of a mountain.
I noticed his lips were blue.
The thing about going up is that you have to go down and on that boulder field descending was just as scary if not more, especially because Kyle began to have "Deja Vu" and our once confident navigator began to stop frequently to get his bearings on our route. Safely at the tree line, I noticed his lips were blue. It was chilly up at the top and he was in shorts but my spidey sense told me something else was up. Thank goodness for WebMD and 3G! I quickly surmised that he had altitude sickness. The air gets thinner as you ascend to higher altitudes, meaning less oxygen to the brain (hence the blue lips and memory issues on the boulder field). I knew something was really wrong when he said he wasn't hungry after talking about a huge cheeseburger as a reward for summitting all the way up! Fatigued and woozy, I felt like Derek and I were coaxing him down the mountain. Getting to lower elevation (along with some IBProphen) was the only cure really, and it took us a little longer than it should have to come down out of the alpine forest. Thankfully at the bottom he started talking about food again and I knew he would be alright!
Two days later he wanted to ascend to Lake Chihuahua, a high alpine lake that puddled into a crystal clear, emerald pool at 12,000 feet...
My photo, no filter!
Totally worth it as well... Could even say, heavenly.
Let's remember that this is the God that bridled the oceans, who gently places the dew on each blade of grass, who sprinkled the night sky with burning balls of gas...
I'm going to go somewhere crazy here: the book of Revelation (no, not Revelations- there is no such book as my husband and I laugh about, it's just one Revelation.) In a book filled with unfathomable visions of the end of time, chapter 22 verse 3 bleeding into 4 says that, "No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship Him. And they will see His face..." Heaven is incredible because God is there. And if you think that's boring let's remember that this is the God who bridled the oceans, telling them to stay put, who gently places the dew on each blade of grass, who sprinkled the night sky with burning balls of gas (some in playful sketches that tell us whether we should expect snow or a summer breeze- the original "connect the dots!"), and who cares for each birthing mother of every species. Celebrity of celebrities is way too underwhelming of a description of who God is or the power He possesses. A "quick" read through Job 38-41, a mere 129 verses briefs us on the awesomeness of God. Chapter 37 of Job says, "The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in His Justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress."
Add to it that God thinks constantly about us too, and loves us, can't wait to be with us, and that is someone I really want to meet! Face to face! Heaven is starting to look pretty good. (Not to mention that something tells me if God can impress us here on earth, He's got something way cooler than either pearly gates or Mount Buffalo!)
Young Oceans wrote a creatively powerful song called 'Great is our God' and the lyrics woke me up!
Lord of all nations,
We will stand at the end of our days
In your courts and declare your great ways
In spirit and truth
We long for your kingdom
Bring your thunder
And gather the earth
All who tremble will tell of your worth
Lord our God!
I am in a new place (and no, not just in Iowa) thinking about Heaven. This is a place where I no longer long to see everything that comes of my life on this earth. A place where my deepest desire is to be with God, to see His kingdom come. It's not because I fear the world and all of it's terror, and there is much that is frightful. It's because of Him. My. Great. God! My heart of hearts! Nothing, finally, nothing compares to his presence and nothing burns greater than my desire to behold Him in all of His incredible glory. I find myself longing like one who knows their time is soon up, but that's really not the case. I've just awakened to His awesomeness and deeply crave for him to "gather" His children.
Juxtaposed to those thoughts are a wealth of pleas that He tarry. Compassion overwhelms my soul for those who don't know of His great love for them. Do you know how He longs for you to run into His extended arms, so that He may give you abundantly a life riddled with peace and joy, a life overrun with hope, a life bursting with His presence?
Would you describe your life as "abundant?"
In somewhat of a confusing passage in scripture about sheep and shepherds and doors, Jesus lays before His audience (his followers-the disciples) a doozy of an idea. He says, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) Would you describe your life as "abundant?" Abundant in joy, in love, in peace? If not, then I would invite you to come like Revelation 22:17 says, "Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life." God is that water. He invites you drink deeply of Him, so that in Him you may have life and have it abundantly.
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