Our adventure started with a trek beside the river which led us to a restaurant by the lake nestled in among the cliffs. From there we began our ascent up the mountain. Up, and up we climbed. The higher we got, the more we had to be careful of our grip to prevent slipping down the steep sides of the mountain, or starting an avalanche with the loose rocks. Every so often we stopped to look below us. The higher we ascended, the more incredible the beauty. From one spot, the lake far below formed the shape of a heart. We climbed to an outcropping of rocks to get a different perspective of the view. The sights and sounds that met our eyes were more incredible than words can describe. Down below were the lake and the quaint restaurant. Towering above and to the side were cliffs of jagged rock. Across the canyon was an old monastery, perched on the edge of the canyon, far from civilization, conjuring images of a more peaceful bygone era. On our left in the distance was a majestic snow covered mountain range. To top off the beauty meeting our eyes, the peaceful, almost ethereal, chanting of the music from the monastery floated across the canyon to meet us.
We reached the top and a wonderful surprise greeted us. As we climbed across a hollow, and into a meadow, we found an enclosed garden. With all the wonder of children exploring a new and mysterious place we ducked through a hole in the fence and looked around us in awe. The view I just described had only magnified and broadened. There were inviting picnic tables surrounded by beautiful bushes, and old stone ruins. Tunnels of greenery invited exploration. I almost expected a hobbit to emerge, or to find one sitting reading a book, enjoying his fifth meal of the day. Towards the back of the garden was the little church.
We rested there in the garden for several hours before completing our adventure on the way back by getting lost on the side of the mountain in the dark. Eventually we found our way by bushwhacking down until we got to a road. The darkness
brought out a different type of beauty. The moon was out, and the silhouette it created of the jagged mountains was incredible.
It is on days like those that I am reminded of what an awesome Creator made me. As I looked around me, at all this beauty I felt as though His presence was saturating every part of it. The mountains shouted of His strength, the lake, and trees of His beauty, and the breeze seemed to wrap me in His loving arms. As I gazed on His creation I spoke with Him, my Creator my Father, my closest friend. He reminded me of how He had called me to this beautiful country, that He had planned these days and moments of my life from the very beginning of creation. He deepened my understanding of how great His love is for
the people here. And looking out at the beauty and awesomeness of it all, I realized with a very deep surety, that there is no question that if the God who imagined and created all of these things has ordered my steps and is watching over me, then I have nothing to be afraid of. Just as my heart felt incapable of even comprehending the awesomeness of what was around me, so I realized that the goodness of my God is beyond finding out, his faithfulness towards me never ending, more than my human mind can fathom.
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