Ocean cabana or mountain cabin?
This was one of the questions in a great little book I bought for our recent road trip from Arizona to Wyoming and back. The book is called "Coke or Pepsi" and it's filled with discussion starters for friends. So, the ocean or mountain question was posed somewhere on I-15 in Utah.
One by one my family answered, "ocean" "ocean" "ocean" and so on. I knew their answers before they spoke. They L-O-V-E the ocean. They love playing in the sand, body surfing, boogie boarding, jumping over waves, collecting sea shells, and just exploring the wonders of a world so very different from our normal desert life. I love the ocean too - especially since I discovered snorkeling in clear, calm water. But honestly, it just makes me too nervous.
It's always changing. The tide moves in and out. Rip currents (or rip tides) appear and disappear. Dolphins look like sharks (at least when my children are in the water they do). And I'm just always afraid the ocean will whisk my children away from me. So while I love the ocean for its beauty, when the question turned to me, I answered "mountain cabin."
For as long as I can remember, the mountains have brought me peace. Living in a valley, I've been hemmed in by mountains all my life. When I went to Iowa years ago, I felt exposed. It was flat as far as I could see. Beautiful in its own way, but I missed my mountains.
Part of our recent vacation was to the Grand Tetons. You might not believe this, but I didn't know we were stopping in the Grand Tetons until the day before we left. My husband completely planned this vacation with some input from me on a few things like National Park Lodges. (I'm was very happy to have him to this because he's great at it.)
As I stood in front of the Grand Tetons, I just gaped. They are unbelievable. They are a 50-mile-long section of the Rockies with a series of soaring peaks side by side. Their proximity to each other, and the fact that they have no foothills, creates an imposing sight. Snow still dusts the tops, and the snow melt made for numerous small waterfalls cascading down the sides and spilling into stunning lakes. Ahhhh. I love mountains.
I'm reminded of the Scripture verse in Psalm 121:1: "I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?"
Solid, unchanging, strong, awesome and beautiful. Sounds a lot like mountains.
Sounds a lot like my God!
I pray you experience God in nature. Scripture tells us that this is one way God chooses to reveal Himself to us:
“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made,
so that men are without excuse.” Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Amen!
Love,
Glynnis
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12 comments:
Oh I so love the mountains too. I 've taken two trips to the Smoky Mountains. I felt so close to God each time. Something about the majesty of the mountains confirms that God is real and is a most glorious Creator. Maybe one day I'll get to the Grand Tetons :) They sound breathtaking. Anyway I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. Welcome back!
Welcome Home! Sounds like you enjoyed an unhurried vacation indeed!
Your post reminds me of the verse:
"The mountains shall bring peace to the people..." Psalm 72:3
So glad you all enjoyed a refreshing vacation!
Sharon :)
What a wonderful vacation it sounds like you had! I can only imagine the grandeur of the Grand Tetons. For now I only dream of a big trip out West to visit those majestic National Parks.
I agree that no matter where you live, God's splendor can be seen so clearly in nature. We were at the beach last weekend and a pod of eight dolphins took our breath away!
Welcome home!
Blessings,
Kelli
Although my mom and sister have always been "beach people", I have always preferred the mountains. For me, the beach is too sandy, too windy, and too likely to bring on a sunburn!
My mother convinced my father to retire to the beach, and during the week of July 4th, we visited. Seeing my 4-year-old and 2-year-old playing in the sand and the waves renewed my appreciation of the shore. We were even able to get everyone together and have a portrait made of our extended family on the beach (snapshots from the session are posted on my blog).
My husband's family is from east Tennessee, and so he has always been a mountain person, too. His parents' 50th wedding anniversary is this year, and they wanted their scattered extended family to vacation together in the Smoky Mountains. We'll be there in August and have scheduled a portrait for this side of the family,too, this time with the mountains as a backdrop.
We feel so blessed that our children are able to experience the wonders of God's handiwork when they visit both set of grandparents.
When I was twelve years old, my family traveled from Virginia to the Grand Tetons. Four decades and world trips later, I still believe the Grand Tetons are the most beautiful site I have ever seen. Even now, it brings tears to my eyes to imagine the tiny slice of God's grandeur that we can see standing at the foot of those mountains. Thank you for refreshing a long forgotten memory!
I'm glad you had a good time. I just told someone today that I wish we had either mountains or an ocean beach. But in the midst of the middle of IL you will only find corn and beans and flat. Though, it is quite possible when driving roads that wind about corn fields to get disoriented.... Yes, real story that happened 3 times in a 24 hour period. Each time I was not more than 15 minutes from home but it took me 45!
Vacations are good things! I hope your family had fun too.
Welcome Home! Glad you had such a wonderful vacation. I'm a "mountain cabin" girl too! Not being a strong swimmer any body of water has never enticed me, but I love the mountains. I think my joy in the mountains came from watching "The Sound of Music" as a little girl. Maria loved the mountains. :o)
My dream vacation would be to travel to Switzerland - snow capped mountains sound so beautiful to me.
Blessings,
Joy
God does sign His work all around us. My daughter went with a friend a few years ago to see the Grand Canyon. It is a sight I have only seen in photographs. I told her I would let her go on one condition. She waited impatiently to hear all my rules and good advice. : ) I surprised her when I said, "when you first see the Grand Canyon, please say WOW God for me."
God gives all of us WOW Moments when our hope is in Him alone.
There is Joy in the Journey! Thanks for sharing your moment.
B His Girl.
I've just returned from a 10-day vacation up in Tennesee (to visit family) where my sister-in-law and I had a similar discussion.
We laughed over the fact that I live by one of the top 10 beaches in the world but don't really like the beach, and she lives in the mountains but prefers the beach!
I hope to see the Grand Tetons for myself one day. I'm so glad you and your family had a good time.
Welcome home! I hope you were refreshed and renewed.
Wow! What a fun book. I'll have to look for that one. Sounds like your vacation was awesome!
Stopping by your blog from some of the other Proverbs 31 blogs...
We love to spend time in the outdoors, and it's one of the places where I am most aware of God's greatness and power that He could create something so vast, varied, and beautiful. Thanks for the reminder. :)
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