Nighttime

The sun has set long ago; now the moon dominates the sky, bathing the whole landscape in a silvery glow. A massive Ponderosa pine shimmers in the moonlight, its needles glazed with lunar hoarfrost. An ocean roars through the treetops all around, and the trees respond almost deliberately: swaying, undulating, waving. During the quieter moments, crickets chirp their own muffled soundtrack of the night in a nearby meadow.

While man sleeps, the earth sings its natural rhythms. Its music is neither uplifting nor melancholy; it merely is.

Moonlight glowing
Fall wind blowing
In the middle of the night
Pine trees swaying
Now I am weighing
The merits of the light

For life and death
Are but a breath
Held in, and then let out
This silent peace
This strange release
I knew nothing about
'Til I stared stark
Into the dark
And heard a whisper and a shout

Get outside

I firmly believe a little experience in nature on a daily basis is one of the healthiest things you can give yourself. Looking at pictures of beautiful scenery, reading books about the wilderness and conservation, listening to recordings of rainstorms and spring mornings...these are fine things, but are not a replacement for being out in nature.

Standing at the waterfront this evening, the lake was ablaze with golden light from the sun. Gulls were crying, robins singing, frogs peeping, doves cooing. There is no mimicking a moment like this. Even explaining it in detail cannot bring it to life and soothe a soul.

Yesterday I hiked probably about five or six miles, and today was a long day of high-ropes training at work. Needless to say, I'm tired. A few minutes listening to the animals and sitting quietly at the lake completely rejuvenated me, though. My body is still tired, but my spirit is calm and at peace now. Just being able to be present for a sunset outdoors can completely change my mood in a positive way. 

Intentionally spend some time outside every day near water, wild plants, or some other unaltered natural setting, and see how much better you feel afterward. If you're not close to such a setting, watch the sunrise or sunset. If you're willing, try leaving the city you live in for the sole purpose of spending a half-hour (or more) in a quiet park. Going out of your way to relax in nature is something which can have a profound effect on your mind and emotions, especially if it's not easy to get away. It is worth all the effort you can put into it.

Barlow Sunset

Walking down the path tonight
The lake aglow with day's last light
Drops from trees ahead are gleaming
While seagulls overhead are screaming
Fogbanks rolling, slowly creeping
While frogs abundant start their peeping
And all my thoughts are now congealing
My heart is heavy, full of feeling
Now this is all I ever wanted:
Mother Nature's beauty flaunted
A silence natural yet concrete
With all of nature's speech replete

Old Ottawa

Moon's the brightest light tonight
Orion's out as well
My headlights shine on Old Ottawa
I've missed this place like hell

The crickets chirp and dead leaves blow
As I approach this lonely shack
The door opens easily, as if to say
"It's been awhile; welcome back"

I step inside and the room wakes up
As I turn on the light
And my mind is stirred with memories
Like shadows in the night

The Christmas lights, the wooden bunks
The marks on the wall: still there
I grin to myself as I drop my things
And step out to the cool night air

It's good to have a quiet place
A getaway you hold dear
Once again, mine is Old Ottawa
And I wish you all were here

Springtime in Michigan

Gray and brown
Both in drab concert
A bleakness has come down
Duller than the desert

The robins sing its praise
Through early morning haze
As mankind bats an eye
And sees not what is nigh

So rise up in delight
At your self-wrought blight
Prepare your choicest mode of slaughter
While winged dunes take flight
Voices rolling in meaningless laughter

And now proclaim your victory
Over Mother Nature, see
How humbly, on her bended knee
She worships you sarcastically

Knowledge

So, I am most of the way through the collected works of Poe, and I have noticed many of his cultural criticisms still hold weight today. Currently, I am reading through "The Colloquy of Monos and Una," and one character is in a monologue describing man's thirst for knowledge. Here is a selection:

"Occasionally the poetic intellect - that intellect which we now feel to have been the most exalted of all...occasionally did this poetic intellect proceed a step farther in the evolving of the vague idea of the philosophic, and find in the mystic parable that tells of the tree of knowledge, and of its forbidden fruit, death-producing, a distinct intimation that knowledge was not meet for man in the infant condition of his soul. And these men - the poets - living and perishing amid the scorn of the 'utilitarians'...these men, the poets, pondered piningly, yet not unwisely, upon the ancient days when out wants were not more simple than our enjoyments keen - days when mirth was a word unknown, so solemnly deep-toned was happiness - holy, august and blissful days, when blue rivers ran undammed, between hills unhewn, into far forest solitudes, primaeval, odorous, and unexplored."

He goes on to describe "knowledge" as "the leading evil." Reading this is astonishing to me, as his words seem only to have gained application and wisdom after all this time. Man's thirst for knowledge has been at an unhealthy level for a long time, and our power over the earth far outscales our discretion.

This would be an appropriate time to say, "It's not that I don't like progress," but I can't actually bring myself to say those words. What we view as "progress" only occurs at great cost to our planet. All of our inventions and great strides, while rapidly increasing our knowledge and capabilities as a race, are destroying the planet right now. We take too much, and often what we do give back is even more destructive. Even as I write against these things, I am using coal-powered electricity and thus supporting the destruction of the mountains which I claim to love so dearly.

We cannot live without causing at least some sort of small-scale destruction (just the act of walking is technically destroying one thing or another underfoot), but the effects of our "progress" on earth are now far beyond a small scale. Modern culture needs a new perspective on what makes real progress. I applaud those people who are now living simple lives, consuming less of the world's resources, and giving back in positive ways to both their communities and the world at large. We need more of those people. I hope myself to begin living such a lifestyle, as soon as I find the faith to let go of the system I rail against.

Here is an applicable movie scene. Take a moment to listen and glean the important principles.

Jurassic Park - Lunch

If you know me well enough, you probably know about my obsession with Jurassic Park. Here's something you may not know: my love of this story runs deeper than just loving dinosaurs. The previous scene is, in my opinion, the pivotal scene of the whole movie and contains the central message. Yet even after hearing it, how many of us would wildly support a real-life Jurassic Park? We agree for a moment with Malcolm, but when it comes to real application in the world, we can usually find ourselves siding with Hammond.

I'll leave you with the most poignant quote of the scene:

"What you call science...I call the rape of the natural world."

Peace.

Thoughts on stewardship

These are two journal entries I have written so far on my current trip to the mountains. They are mostly the result of a book I am reading called "Braiding Sweetgrass." I would recommend it to anyone, although the content might be very challenging for some of you if you choose to read it.

7-29-14:
We Christians are not as smart as we think we are. Our knowledge of God is so incomplete, yet we forget this fact. Do we really believe God hardly cares how we treat the earth? The theological ideas of "stewardship," "in the world, but not of it," and "being made in the image of God" have collided in such a negative way that we have developed a "god complex" of our own. Sure, we may be valued over other creations, but we came last, which carries more meaning than you might typically think about. Other creations are also highly valued by God. Why would they be a part of the web of life if they were not valuable? I think we need to seriously re-evaluate our theology regarding the care of the earth. We should certainly live as spiritual beings, but this earth is not without spirit itself. We should not treat this as solely our home, but truly as stewards whose Master will return to judge our stewardship.

7-31-14:
The world cannot function solely on taking, neither can it function solely on giving. True relationships are always reciprocal. However, when we walk into the woods, we only take, and rarely give of ourselves. We kill biting insects instead of giving our blood, and shoo away anything which tries to rest on us. I'm NOT saying we should allow ourselves to be eaten alive or expose ourselves to disease, but this is symbolic of our attitude in general regarding nature. We see it as something which only exists for our benefit, not as an entity we have been taking advantage of for too long. Heaven forbid we even start viewing plants and animals as fellow beings which also have a right to exist! What vast changes would be heralded by such a shift in perspective!

Based on actual feelings

Campfire night. The air intoxicates. What draws us and tempts us to stay longer, a little longer? Is it nostalgia? An ancient feeling. Ancient air. Ancient flame.

Sehnsucht.

It is here in the wind, the colours on the water, the frogs, the embers sparking, swirling, flying higher and higher in an eternal circle up to heaven itself, incense to God. Our spirits dance up with them, soaring, releasing us from the world into reality.

Check the time, time to go.

Please, please, please don't go.

Kootenay Lake

*This is a journal entry from my time in Idaho, written during a weekend we spent on the shores of Kootenay Lake in Nelson, British Columbia*

 This morning I walked down to the lake.

Loons wailed out one last time to welcome the dawn. The mountains around Lake Kootenay were still wrapped in a deep shroud of blue, only the most distant ones to the east showing a soft orange variation as the sun rose behind them. Ospreys flew overhead, calling to one another as they scoured the water for fish. A few ambitious gulls were just starting their day. A flock of geese flew past, almost militaristic in the flying-V formation. Crows discussed their plans for the day, the noisiest of all the neighbours this morning. The waters were somewhat turbulent, as if the heavenly peace of the morning nauseated them.

As I stood watching, the distant orange hues began melting closer into the mountains' blue. Sunlight pierced the veil on the hilltops behind me, revealing the lovely greens of the forest. Half of the mountains I could see were retaining their misty blue, their features still indistinguishable, and half were covered in a hazy orange reflected from the vanilla-peach clouds above them.

The clouds themselves seemed too light and wispy to have such a profound effect on the mountainscape. A horse's tail here, a bird's wing there, white sponge pressings, and pink sky-ripples all littered the great blue expanse above me. Impossible to truly duplicate on a canvas, yet infinitely unique every day in the natural world. The result of a great Artist's eternal creativity.

The Rapture of the Forest

*This is an extended journal entry from my time in Idaho. I journaled nearly every single day. This entry was written after a walk along the road behind the farm.*

There is a single tree on the farm which is changing colours. Bright, flaming orange, and kind of scrawny.

Sometimes I pretend the clouds are mountains.

Sometimes I imagine the world is moving below the clouds instead of them above the earth. Walking becomes a totally different experience.

As I walked down the road, I realised the raven I heard behind me was catching up. I turn around to look for it, and its calls somehow passed me by, as if made by a phantom bird. Looking up, I see the black phantom high above me, higher than I thought ravens were ever interested in flying. It floated in tight circles on thermals, quickly moving on toward the wilderness.

After finding a cold stream and a trail leading up into the mountains, I turned back. On the road, something happened. I stopped to listen to the rocks. When I did, the forest and rocks sang out for just a moment. The song was deafened in short order by one of the weightiest silences I have ever experienced.

That silence. It almost felt as if some primeval behemoth had me locked in its gaze. I couldn't move.

The Ancient approaches in the silence of the wilderness. You cannot escape. You cannot move. You can only know the Weight of the Presence.

Primeval is the best word. A great power, unknowable, older than the world. No evil intention, yet fear grips you.

A great Deep. Everything stills itself for what seems like an eternity, except the wind. The wind brings this Presence. To and fro it roams. We may not meet again for some time. You cannot search for and find the Presence; you can, however, go out to meet it. Where you meet it is not up to you.

Minutes passed, unmoving. I could have stood there for hours.

The burden grows. You realise it is real. Then it begins to fade, moving on past you. Something breaks you trance, and you realise the Presence is already gone. The dream has passed, and you have woken up. Perhaps, though, this is now the dream, and you had let reality take hold of you for just a moment; now it is gone, and you slumber peacefully, waiting for the wake-up call and that great Dread to find you once again.

Peace.

Westward 2013, debrief

SO, blogosphere, it appears that the King of the Wild Frontier has returned from his latest adventure and is ready to resume his online thought processing!

Most of you have heard my trip to Idaho was full of rewarding work and beautiful scenery. I could stop there, and it would be entirely accurate...but for those who want more, allow me to expound.

The trip out was an experience in and of itself. My friend Taylor and I camped in National Forests for free most of the way. We heard wolves in the mountains near one campsite, slept practically on the Continental Divide, and paid an arm and a leg to do next to nothing in Yellowstone National Park.

Once we got to the farm, things got even better. It was situated between three separate ranges of the Rockies (the Selkirks, Purcells, and Cabinets), and was far from any serious human clutter and noise. There was a small line of mountains right behind the farm, and I summited two of the peaks in one day: Line Point and Goat Mountain. Unfortunately, I neglected to plan well enough and almost had to spend the night on a mountainside in grizzly bear country. Heh, whoops.

The job itself was great. Good, hard work four days a week, and three-day weekends. I also realised how much farm work of this sort suits me. This should not have come as a surprise to me, as almost my entire family is comprised of farmers going back generations. I would strongly consider working for a similar farm (or even the same one) full-time whenever I settle down.

Our time on the farm (Ronniger's Organics, in case you were wondering) did include one very untimely event, though. Another intern who had been working there since around May shot and killed himself in his own cabin, which was just a hundred or so yards from our cabin and the owners' home. This came as a shock to everyone, and made things hard for quite some time. I have never dealt with death before, and especially not suicide. I am unsure what else to say about it, really...I was not particularly close to him, but our boss Simon was good friends with him, and he took it very hard for a while. Taylor and I just tried to keep our minds off it.

Changing topics completely now, I kept a journal every single day of the trip except five days while we were at the Barter Faire, which I will discuss later. Journaling regularly is something I have always wanted to do, but have never felt quite able or motivated enough to actually accomplish. It truly helped me to process my thoughts on a daily basis, kept me reading and writing, and strengthened my resolve to pursue some of my personal goals. I may post one or two journal entries here when I get the chance. I used my journal to also practice writing in general, and it is full of edits, so the posts will not be as raw as they are in their current state.

As I mentioned, I also read quite a bit. I finished "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer, the story of Chris McCandless, who abandoned everything he had after college to search for something...purpose, himself, the meaning of life, a real existence, God...he died alone in the Alaskan wilderness. His search, though, resounded in my soul, and showed what one young man can (and cannot) do if he sets his mind to it.

Next, I read "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek," an abstract Christian nature theology book by Annie Dillard which explores both the wonder and horror displayed in Creation. Very interesting and even beautiful at times, but very difficult to read. The descriptions of her experiences with the Spirit of God in nature really hit home in me.

A book which I have been trying to read for almost two years now, "'Hunting Trips of a Ranchman' and 'The Wilderness Hunter'" by Theodore Roosevelt, saw its completion on this trip. Roosevelt's descriptions of the West and life on the old prairie are the stuff of legend: tales of hunting grizzly bears, sleeping in buffalo robes, and heading out on horseback for days with nothing but a blanket, a gun, and some bread and water.

I also began reading some Henry David Thoreau, whose writings were referenced by Krakauer and Dillard. His longings for solitude in nature, yet also true friendship, also echo deep in my soul. I have yet to finish the compilation of his works I am reading, though, so I have not fully developed my thoughts on him yet.

Now, before finishing up, let me quickly explain the Barter Faire, which I mentioned in passing earlier. It is actually called the Okanogan Family Faire, and is located roughly in central Washington. The fair takes place over about five days, and is a combination of a giant farmers' market, a music festival, a county fair, and a hippie festival...and I am very serious about the hippies. This place was almost like a dream come true for me: trading vegetables for other goods, working and having fun at the same time, and giant, intense drum circles all night long. Yes, drum circles. The event was basically the end of our time working at the farm, and certainly was a great way to finish the season, as Simon told us it would be.

All in all, my time in Idaho served to shape me more fully as a man. I will always have room to grow, of course, but I can identify very specific areas of growth. First, again as mentioned earlier, my resolve was strengthened. Through helping me identify what I truly value in life (that is, who and whose opinions are important to me, my true passions and life goals, and the lifestyle I want to pursue), God strengthened my motivation to take certain steps. These include: moving out of the Lansing area and living with my friend Andrew (who is also trying to move forward in life and chase the westward dream), educating myself on geology and paleontology for now, and saving up to move to Durango, CO as soon as possible. Several occurrences prior to my departure and the lessons I learned while in Idaho have made it clear that the time to sit and wait is over: now is the time for action. So, Andrew and I are moving to Grand Rapids this January, where we will be working and getting ready to eventually move away.

Second, I learned about working hard and working over your scheduled time in order to complete a job. Perhaps it was easier because I enjoyed the job so much, but my time on the farm helped me understand the importance of work in life. I do not view work as a bad thing, or as something I must do in order to make a living, but rather as an opportunity to serve others and build up oneself at the same time. I used to complain about staying late at previous jobs, but now I see doing the work well and seeing it to completion is actually quite personally rewarding.

Third, making this trip happen was in itself a very important moment of growth. I have never done something this "crazy" before, but after being on the farm for a few weeks I realised it was not so crazy after all. In fact, it felt right...and almost normal. This realisation was very important for my life in the future. Now I can see doing things like this is both very possible and absolutely fantastic.

I hope this sheds more light on what the trip meant to me. Naturally, there is still much left unsaid, but such is life. I would like to express all the lessons I learned, ways I grew, and experiences I had to all of you, but I simply cannot. They are my own, and belong to no other.

Please, I urge you to take the step you are too afraid to take, shoot for the goal you think impossible, and make your own dreams come true. It can be done, and once you try, you will be living life on a new level. Then, the lessons, growth, and experiences will be all yours. Then, God will show you things about yourself you never imagined.

Peace.

Walking with the Ancients

The steady crashing of waves on sandstone woke me from a light sleep. The sun was already up over Superior, and we had to make a quick breakfast before continuing our trek along the lakeshore.

Pack the tents, clean the campsite, start walking.

The peace all around was breathtaking. No human noise except the sound of our feet trudging along the path; just waves, the wind through the trees, and birds ministering their morning songs to us.

A seagull cries overhead, and I appreciate it in its true home.

Hours pass with few breaks from hiking. In such a setting, cheap jerky and dried fruit make me feel like all is right with the world. Much beauty is passed by on a tiring journey.

I hear the throaty call of a raven, and stop to look up.

Now standing in an old-growth forest, I am dwarfed by those around me. The trees are old...very old. Their branches and trunks are covered in moss. I take a deep breath, and the musty yet pleasant aroma of hundreds of mushrooms takes over my senses.

The throne room of an ancient fay kingdom has appeared before me.

It seems as though God granted this place a special sense of ancient solitude. My companions were ahead somewhere, and I was along with God and His forest...my forest. This silent, hallowed woodland inspired a deep, emotional reverence in me to which few things in life can compare.

I walked out of the forest along the path, and resumed as though nothing had happened.

These moments, gifts from God, come frequently if you allow yourself to see beauty in all things. Enjoy them, thank God for them, but know they are fleeting on this earth.

One day He will come again and perfect us.

One day the earth will be made new.

One day beauty will no longer be elusive.

One day.

Peace.

Westward 2012, Garden of the Gods

So, I've hardly been in Colorado Springs for three days, and my mind has been blown. So many things have happened since arriving here two nights ago. I'm having a hard time finding words, really. I love this place, and I love the people I've met here.

This morning I hiked to a place called Garden of the Gods, then met one of my new friends, Andrew, in the afternoon to go bouldering in the park. Here are some pictures:

Besides being in a beautiful area, God has also been doing some serious work on me since I've been here, so thanks for your prayers. Yesterday I'm pretty sure I became Pentecostal. Much of the Christian community here is very charismatic and put full stock in the spiritual gifts. I've been wondering about those sort of things for some time now, but have had almost no chance to find out more in Lansing. Most of the people I've met here are students at Charis Bible College, which I think is a Pentecostal school. They talk about spiritual gifts and receiving the Holy Spirit like it's totally normal for Christians...so I thought this was a great opportunity to finally take a step of faith in that direction. I know I've received the Holy Spirit now (preparing myself for the flak from people back home for saying that...), and I've learned a lot more about the spiritual gifts even in this short time.

Also, I've noticed a vast difference in the Christian community here. People's speech is obviously dominated by Christ, and it doesn't feel awkward to bring up God in almost any conversation. Sadly, this is different from what I've experienced elsewhere. I just met more new friends today in a purely divine appointment, and we were all encouraged by each other so much it was ridiculous.

All of this makes me a little concerned about going back home. As far as what I've learned here, I know it's Scriptural because I've seen it before arriving in Colorado...I just needed to see it confirmed. The problem is that I won't really be able to learn more back home in my Christian community. I'll have to start listening to online sermons from the head guy at the college here, Andrew Wommack. I'm pretty concerned about what some people will say if they hear about me joining up with the Pentecostals since it's so different from Baptist practice, but I know God has my back. My faith has been seriously strengthened since coming here, and I know God won't let me be ashamed because of it.

I need to do a lot of praying and seeking God's will, but I'm almost certain that I'm going to move here soon, whatever "soon" means. Turns out the Andrew I went bouldering with today has almost the same passions and vision for ministry as I do. So much has been confirmed to me already on this trip...I can't wait to see what the rest of it brings.

Peace.

The Soo

So, I just got back from vacation with my family at Sault Ste. Marie. My grandparents have been going there almost every autumn for the past...many...autumns so my grampa can go fishing. My mom and I went up to visit for an extended weekend since neither of us had been there with my grandparents in seven years. I didn't actually catch anything, but it was a great trip. We went thrift store shopping on the first day, something my family isn't used to doing, and I got to show them what kind of AWESOME things you kind get for super cheap. Alright...maybe their idea of awesome is a little different from mine, but oh well.

My mom and I visited Whitefish Point and Tahquamenon Falls on the second day. Note: the snack shop at Whitefish Point has AWESOME pasties (I had my first one ever there) which they order from Gaylord, and they make their own fudge, which is really fresh and delicious. Tahquamenon Falls was really nice; there are two parks, Upper Falls and Lower Falls, which were formerly only connected to each other by a long, rough dirt trail through the woods...but now it's all boardwalk and asphalt. Definitely an improvement.

Like I said already, I didn't catch any fish at the Soo (Sault Ste. Marie, for any non-Michiganders), but spending time with my grampa was worth it. We went out hours before the sun was up each morning to try to land a big one. This morning, the skies were clear for the first time and we got to watch the stars right before sunrise. I saw a shooting star travel down the handle of the Big Dipper, and Orion is finally back in the sky. It was a good morning.

This is my last full week as an Ingham County park ranger. I'm sad, but I'm hopeful that a new job will come my way soon...one that will help me save more money so I can get out of Lansing for good. I started applying for new jobs this weekend.

Also, my good friend Nate Martin stayed at my house on Labor Day. We walked around the Harris Nature Center in Okemos in the evening, and he took some pictures with his awesome camera. He sent a bunch of them to me, so I'll share some on here.

Peace.

Some camp stuff

So, I just got back from a second week at Bambi Lake camp. This time it was a bunch of 4th-6th graders, and I wasn't actually a group leader: I was just the worship leader. I still got a lot of time to hang out with the kids, though, and it was another sweet group. Lots of games of mafia, silly waiting-in-line camp games...this one reminded me a lot of how camp goes at Center Lake, which is probably why I liked it so much. All of my free time may have also had something to do with it, haha.

For most of the week, I was pretty free every day until about 3:00pm. On a couple of days, I went for walks on the camp trails...and went hiking off-camp. I found an ORV trail and a gravel road, both of which I followed for quite a while on different days. I thought I found bear tracks on the road, but after looking up some animal tracks, I don't think they were...but they were pretty big. Also found a red-bellied snake, one of two species in northern Michigan which don't get very big and are generally really easy to handle (the other is the brown snake). A raven, my favorite bird, was around one of the days, and it looked like a turkey had been following my tracks for a while when I returned.

This turned out to be another week where I got to know some people from the Southern Baptist Convention and Bambi Lake better, which is good. Now I've already been asked to help lead worship for a college-age retreat around New Year. I suppose getting in the convention's good graces is a plus. Even some local church leaders now are apparently watching me a little closer...in a good way, that is.

With some of these things going around in my head, I can't help but also think of a Scripture passage I just read recently:

"How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" ~Jesus, John chapter 5

Sounds like Jesus is saying you can't really believe if you're seeking honour from men instead of God. If I'm trying to look good and get my name out there, then somewhere along the way I've lost the point of what I'm doing. I won't be worshiping God, and I won't be leading others in worship. Tough thoughts.

Peace.

Green walk

So, the past couple days have been really great. Thursday night, I was at my second job when some huge thunderstorms rolled in, and the sky was beautiful. Dark, foreboding clouds, blue skies, lots of rain, lightning, a golden sunset, and a rainbow...all at the same time. It was amazing.

The next morning, it was still raining quite a bit, but I found a break between the rain and took a walk at the Harris Nature Center in Okemos, one of my favorite places to get away in the Lansing area. Everything was green and covered in raindrops, and some of the shrubs were flowering beautifully. I originally went to go birdwatching, but after a while I had to put down my notebook and just enjoy it all. It was too good for pictures...almost too much for me to handle. It was that feeling of sehnsucht, the emotional moment described several times in Wapiti Wilderness; it made me tear up a  bit. A couple times, all I could do was just stand there and try to take it in, barely able to comprehend the beauty of it all, and yet at the same time realising that there is so much more...if the world can be this beautiful (and more so), then how glorious, majestic, awe-inspiring, and breathtaking must God be?

I can't wait to see.

Peace.

Leaves from the Tree

So, I picked a leaf from the big oak tree in the middle of Spring Arbor. I looked at the leaf, and realised certain things about it. Without being connected to its source, the leaf will fade, wither, and die. Oak leaves are strong, yet also flexible; however, they only are because they are connected to their source. There are pieces missing from the leaf, blemishes throughout, and it's fairly bent up...but through all those things, you can still tell what it is and where it came from.

Let's be leaves from the Tree.

Peace.

Beauty

So, I walked to class this morning in a heavy fog. Fog deadens everything it covers; campus was nearly silent for once. Looking at trees off in the distance ("the distance" meaning about forty yards away), I couldn't help but think it was beautiful. People often see fog as an obstacle they have to slow down for; recognising God made it gives you a different perspective. Even though I couldn't see far, and the usual campus noises and chatter were absent, I saw God's Creation still, and the crickets and birds seemed even louder than usual: a chorus singing praise to the Maker of heaven and earth, even through the haze. After I finished my classes about three hours later, I walked back to my apartment. By now, the sun had come out, chasing away the fog. The colors of the trees seemed to be shouting for joy in the light. I looked at an evergreen tree and noticed the striking blue-green color of its needles, how different it was from the other trees, how beautiful it was. I looked at a maple and an oak, and realised they weren't just more trees: God made each one unique and beautiful, and if you take more than a passing glance at any one, you can see its beauty for yourself.

God reveals Himself in nature. He taught me several things this morning. First, the fog corresponds to hardships and obstacles in our life. We see pain and trouble as things to overcome, and we wonder why God brings them to us. We should see God's mighty hand working even then, and the beauty of what He's doing. Even when everything seems quiet, and we can't seem to hear God's comforting voice, His power and beauty are still present, coming through in the smallest ways we don't normally notice. When God lifts the veil, we can see clearly the situation around us, and everything seems even better than it was before the darkness; we can appreciate it more. Second (which God showed me as I typed this), those trees in the sunlight are like people. This is a lesson God has been teaching me a lot lately: people really are beautiful, no matter what they may seem like in passing. This is a hard one for me. Third, if Creation is so beautiful, how much more must be the beauty of its Creator! Every time I look around outside, I have to acknowledge the grand beauty of nature, yet, at the same time, its inferiority to what we will come to know.

Peace.

Westward 2011, Day 9

So, I don't have any pictures today. Sorry in advance. However, today was sweet, and I wish my camera was good enough to take pictures of what we saw.

The day started at 4:30am when my mom's alarm went off in the motel room. Ick. We got picked up for a sunrise wildlife tour at about 5:50am. Within the first two hours we saw six moose. Six. That is a lot of moosen. Two cows each with a calf, one other cow, and a big ol' bull. One of the cows with a calf was actually walking along a river grazing with her calf roughly fifty yards away from us. It was awesome. Various sections of that river were where we saw all six of the moose, actually, and not very far away from each other.

Moose are freaking huge. The bull was about six feet at the shoulder, to give you an idea. Dark brown fur, long legs, and a goofy, but friendly, face. Our guide was telling us (and we witnessed this to be true) for such a large animal, they could somehow simply disappear into the foliage and be completely lost from sight in a matter of seconds. I commented, "It's probably because they're one with the shadows."

EVERYTHING FINALLY MAKES SENSE.

Anyway, along the same river we saw a long-tailed weasel as well. He ran up the river bank, stopped at the edge, and gave us this look like:

O.O
OMG PEOPLE

Then he ran away. lol. Later on the trip we saw more bison and pronghorn, along with a Swainson's Hawk with intermediate plumage. Sorry...the excessive bird info will not stop.

To be honest, the trip would've been pretty lame had the guide not had a really charismatic personality and been very intelligent. She was extremely knowledgeable regarding almost every animal we saw (minus the small birds) and actually provided us with a good historical look at Jackson Hole as well. We also got on the topic of how she was affiliated with the Teton Science School, which provides the tours, and got a glimpse of her life story, which was nothing short of epic. Trapping animals for research in Yellowstone National Park...working for federal and state agencies in ecology jobs...living in the woods for extended periods of time...driving around to new places and new job opportunities when one would expire.

Let's just say...I'm glad I haven't officially set myself on geology this spring just yet. Both geology and ecology are areas which God has given me a huge passion for. I'm going to be praying about which direction God wants me to take at this point...but I know He's given me these passions for a reason, and I also know that "all things work together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose." Personally, I currently think I am more prepared to go into an ecology-type field. I have a strong desire to see us use our natural resources more wisely and become better stewards of Creation. Maybe I should go save the whales. I don't know.

I would appreciate your prayers about this issue. If you read my "Schooling and Goals" post before you read this one, you can probably already tell I need the prayers, ha. Prayer is a good thing. I'd appreciate them in general. There's a lot going on with my family, too. Thank you.

Peace.