God Comes With Us

This year’s family vacation was epic. In a grand, The Kids Are Leaving The Nest Soon gesture, we decided to fly out to Portland, Oregon to see some of my relatives and then spend two weeks driving home. A lot of togetherness, a lot of beauty to see…and a lot of lessons to learn. 

 

It was wonderful to see my West Coast relatives again after 20-some years. I loved seeing all of them, but I especially enjoyed spending time with my uncle. I never noticed how much he is like my dad, who lives in Heaven now. Same nose, same facial expressions, same speech patterns, same laugh. When I looked at him, I saw my father. It was wonderful. 

…I sure hope that when my loved ones look at me, they see my Father’s face. 

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We got to see tide pools. They're SO cool. There were mussels and anemones and crabs and starfish. We hopped from rock to rock, sidestepping shells and critters and crouching to marvel at the colors and shapes. Inquisitive fingers discovered that starfish feel like rocks but anemones are sticky and a little bit creepy. 

My daughter picked up a little hermit crab shell, squealing with delight when one tiny claw came out and poked at the air. As she held her breath, a second claw emerged, and then a quivery antenna. The small creature waved its appendages about in a fearsome manner, finally letting them come to rest on Emmalyn’s thumb. “He's touching me!” she cried excitedly. “He's touching me!!”

…We crouch in the shells we build for ourselves, fearing the great big God who has chosen us. What joy it gives Him when we gather our courage and reach out for His hand.

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If you see a flower that looks like Queen Anne’s Lace only really, really big – as in, taller than you are – I offer you this advice: Don't Pick It. It turns out Giant Hogweed has toxic sap that can lead to really bad burns on your skin. Bad stuff. Which is a real shame, because it's a lovely flower.  

…Sometimes my insides don't match my outsides. But, even knowing my darkest secrets, God still picks me. 

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Northern Montana is golden. Hills and hills and hills crouch in all directions, dressed not in the cool green forest of Michigan but with a low-lying gold, smooth and sinuous, curvy and beguiling. Hills upon hills, not a man-made structure in sight except the one gray road ribboning between them. 

Going deeper and deeper into the Montana wild, a person can get a little nervous. A little claustrophobic. The golden hills seem to inch closer, each one more barren than the last, the remoteness of the place becoming tangible. The hills are lovely…but what if one never finds their way out? A body could get lost in those hills, could wander for days without seeing another human being. The gray ribbon road becomes a lifeline. 

...Life gets lonely sometimes. Burdens menace and fears loom large. But with our Savior leading us, there is always a way out. 

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It has been thirty-five years since Mt. St. Helens erupted. It belched out smoke and steam and ash and lava, causing massive flooding and avalanches. It swept away cars and people and homes and trees and ground, devastating the landscape. 

And now, many years later, the trees are growing back. The ash has been turned into art. The scars where the lava flowed are being softened by wild flowers. 

…Where my anger bubbles over and sin explodes, the forgiveness earned by Jesus covers over and makes me beautiful again. 

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Driving Going-To-The-Sun Road in Glacier National Park takes a special measure of courage. The astonishing views of jagged peaks and graceful curving valleys and sky-to-earth waterfalls are equaled for breathtakingness by the rock walls, dropoffcliffs, and menacing overhangs one must traverse to see the sights. Daughter Emmalyn, who is much troubled by such thingsas the possibility of plummeting to our demise, huddled in the back seat and trembled at every curve in the road. I told her that if she needed to close her eyes it was okay…but she could also remember that Dad was driving. And Dad would keep her safe. 

…We can shut our eyes and cringe at life’s perplexities. Or we can enjoy the ride with our hair whipping in the wind. Either way, our Father, who takes infinite care of us, has everything under control. 

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We are never alone on our journeys. As we go and do and explore, our maker is there, whispering His presence in our ear. There are lessons to be learned everywhere, if only we turn our ear to hear them. No matter where we go, God comes with us.