“Here I am Lord. Just as I am. ” What a simple response to God’s telling us that He is always with us, for us, always present. I do not need to find a so called “sacred place” to worship, to pray, to contemplate. Whether at home, on the road, on the trail, where I am here, God is too.
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| Hoffer Lake Oregon, Anthony Lake |
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| Mt Rainier, William O Douglas Wilderness, PCT |
I realize as I am hiking on the trail, through incredible scenery and sometimes dull scenery, that only God provides rest and peace. As I shed the noise and the distractions, as I my mind slows down from the busy thoughts of the “to do list” at home, I relax and open my mind to the created world around me and the Creator. I am no longer separate or isolated. I am, once again, close to the Source of all being.
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| Calliope hummingbird |
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| Spray Park, Mt Rainier |
As I hiked into and through the William O Douglas Wilderness and Spray Park in Mt Rainier National Park, my heart was continually lifted up by the glorious Creation the Lord has blessed us with. The moments of sheer, overwhelming beauty pushed the tiredness away from my aging body. Spiritually, at least, I was lift up like an eagle–and at least my mind could hike and not grow weary.
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| Spray Park, Mt Rainier |
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| Mt Adams, Goat Rocks, William O Douglas Wilderness |
Located in the less frequented northwest corner of Mt Rainier National Park, Spray Park bursts forth in the densest and most colorful wildflowers I have ever experienced. From the trailhead at Mowich Lake, Bob and I hiked up and down and up and down, and finally steeply up to reach Spray Park. The meadows begin at about 6000 feet and continue in a tier like fashion to about 6800 feet. Just as the Sperry Glacier hike in Glacier National Park took Meg and me through multiple levels of waterfalls, the Spray Park trail took Bob and me into multiple layers of wildflower meadows and ponds.
Bob, my Pacific Crest Trail hiking partner, and I enjoyed a recent two and a half day, thirty mile backpack through the William O. Douglas Wilderness portion of the PCT in Washington. Justice Douglas served forty one years on the US Supreme Court, the longest tenure of any Justice (although Justice Stevens may soon surpass that record). He grew up in Yakima, WA and developed a passion for the outdoors and strong conservationist ethic. Most of his summers were spent at Goose Prairie near the wilderness named after him.
As I hiked on the Pacific Crest Trail in the Norse Peak Wilderness of Washington state this past week, I was deeply humbled by the infinitude of God’s Creation and His relationship to us. In the billions of galaxies with their billions of stars, I am scarcely a mere blade a grass. Whether I live one day, or one hundred years, my life is not even an eye blink of eternity. Yet God knows me, and each one of us. The whole Biblical revelation tells us that this omniscient God of this mind boggling vast universe loves each of us with an infinite love. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8. God’s greatness is certainly in the majesty of his infinite creation, but His greatness is equally and awesomely shown in His justice and mercy and mindfulness to us, His mere mortals.
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| Mt Rainier, Norse Peak Wilderness |
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| Norse Peak Wilderness |