Day 6: A Walk in the Mountains

Today is Day 6 of my facebook fast.  I woke up feeling a bit more energy than I have in awhile, so I thought I might take a nice drive through the country and see my old friend, Cohutta Springs.  The morning had been the usual gray and cold, but by the afternoon the sun was coming out, and it gave me the final inspiration I needed to push me out the door (with permission from my mom to use her car, of course).


I started the 40-minute drive to Cohutta, but as I got closer, the mountains came into view.  And oh, those mountains!  They were calling my name!  They rose so majestically above the green fields and bare trees, with the most gentle touch of feathery whiteness on top...how could I resist?  Well, I actually tried to at first, but then I turned around and headed for the mountain--Fort Mountain.  I love it up there in the summer, but this--this was spectacular!  It seems that some of the greatest moments of my life happen quite unexpectedly.  God has this thing for surprising me with ordinary moments that awaken my heart and the childish wonder I thought was permanently in a coma.  It starts real small, with a little smile, and then grows and grows. With every corner of the road, each new view as I ascended...it grew and grew.  And then I reached the top, parked my car, and started walking the mountain trail.  The smell of wet leaves reminded me I was home, blessed home in the South, but the scent of snow brought back memories of skiing and snow days..  It was truly a mini-winter-wonderland.  I mean, the snow was only a few inches deep at the most, but the way it was clinging to everything, every tiny little branch and twig and needle--wondrous!  The sunlight glistened and glittered through the white branches.  Down, down, ever so slowly the path continued until, at last...the overlook.  It opened up before me like an eloquent chapter in a book of truth, or like a window into another world.  Intense blues, greens, grays, whites, and that big yellow ball of fire burst into view; the sky, the expansive land sprawling below, with its smooth fields and tiny houses and miniature roads; the surrounding, gently sloping mountains, with their lightly-brushed white ridges; the soaring eagle--first below me, then in slow, wide circles, gliding up...up...above me now, and hovering...before gliding away and ever higher.  The sun felt good on my face--but so did that icy wind.  I just couldn't take it all in.  I wanted to hold it, take it with me--or just become lost in it altogether and become part of the beauty myself.  Or at least not have to leave it behind.  But of course, I did leave.  I hiked up the snow-covered stairs to the ancient tower, and down to the ancient ruins of the "moon-eyed" people, according to the state park information signs.  I imagined the legendary Welsh people attempting to rebuild their far-away castle home on this mountain, and what they must have been like.  What happened to them?  So many stories this mountain could tell.  I wished it could listen, and hear mine too.  But God was listening and speaking, deeply and wordlessly, as only He can.  When He speaks your heart's language, it's hard to ignore.  You just want to keep listening.


As I drove home, the sun set in brilliant shades of orange and red and blue, behind silhouetted oak trees and old houses.  As the shades deepened and darkened, I felt my heart being pulled with the sun into a deeper richness of emotion.  As often as I mistrust and second-guess emotional experiences... this one I was going with.  God was near.  He doesn't always choose to show up this way, but when He does...it sure makes an incredible day!