Hello!
This has been one amazing week. Last Sunday all my plans fell through...I had people cancel our time together and I was scrambling to piece together some other plan for the week. This turned out to be a God moment, as things came together in ways that could not have otherwise happened.
The biggest highlight for my week was all of the friends I got to spend time with. Instead of traveling through southern Idaho, I got to visit Spokane for my first time and spend time with a friend I hadn't seen in ten years! I got to spend time with two of my online classmates in their hometowns and got to enjoy them and their families, visited my cousin in Great Falls, and met up with Vince and Kristi Pinson along the way. Vince and Kristi were my ministry team leaders my first year with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP). I got to visit them last year while they were at Mount Rainier National Park, but this year, we met at their summer location at Glacier National Park.
Glacier is beautiful! As I approached the park, I began to think about how fragile my national park experiences are becoming. When surrounded by intense beauty for as many summers (and extra road trips) as I have, such beautiful places can have a tendency to become common and mundane unless they are met with a heavy dose of gratitude and appreciation for all of God's creation, whether inside or outside a park. How many times have I been overwhelmed by a series of God's blessings and eventually forget to say "thank you" for them? How often do I neglect to recognize God's small daily gifts in the anticipation for the next big experience?
These thoughts rolled through my mind as I wondered if I would approach Glacier with a sincere gratitude for the experience, or see yet another park, shrug my shoulders, and say, "I've seen better." I determined that regardless of what the park turned out to be, I would be grateful for the gift of being there. When I arrived in the park though, these concerns were instantly swept away with a gaping "WOW!" The forested mountains turned into glacier-cut peaks and sharp vertical drops lined with snow and cascading falls. Throughout my three days there, I was met with all sorts of wildlife, including seeing my first wild grizzly and three black bears (Goldilocks was not around this time). Most of the park was shut down as the hotels and visitor centers will be opening in the next few weeks, and there were very few visitors throughout the park, leaving much of the park open for time alone with God.
Now that I have access to Internet again, I'm now back to my homework. I'll be reporting for work at Yellowstone tomorrow morning and will be meeting my ministry teammates who have already arrived. I am very excited.
Glacier photos are available for viewing on the Glacier Photos page link found on the right bar.
Blessings to you in your week ahead!
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