As I stand on top of the Blue Ridge mountains, I am filled with the wonder of God’s creation. Gazing over green and blue waves as far as the eye can see, I am filled with peace. Why do the mountains affect me so deeply? Maybe it’s my Scottish heritage? Or perhaps it is something the Lord placed in my DNA to love His creation and sense His presence.
I find the enormity of these ridges steadying. They are solid, velvet-clad, and topped with blue sky and cumulus clouds. The scripture says the clouds are the dust of His feet. Looking out over the mountains and watching the gathering clouds, I thought about Enoch, who walked with God in the heavenly realms. Our Lord gazes on His creation every day from heaven.
My mornings begin with bird song. A sweet junco sings in the tree off the deck and tries to keep pace with a chatty house wren. I accidentally dropped a tiny piece of oatmeal on the deck. The junco instantly swooped down to capture it. I sprinkled some on the deck and the railing, then withdrew to watch him enjoy the feast. The wren scolded from a nearby tree. Later, looking out my bedroom window, I watched two fawns browse in the grass.
Each day I hike a trail that leads to a vista of the Blue Ridge mountains. That usually means clambering over roots and large boulders. But the woods are filled with wildflowers even in July. The rhododendron is in full bloom now and grows on these rocky hillsides.
Some days, I watch hawks and eagles as they glide on the updrafts. I love to see them soaring in the sky. One day, a hawk dangling a mole sailed right over me, missing my head by inches. He was intent on his lunch. If it weren’t for the farms with tin roofs below and the occasional house, I could pretend I was an explorer in these mountains for the first time. I can only imagine what it was like to cross these ranges on horseback or wagon.
One morning I was slow to get moving. I sat on the deck with my coffee and filled my soul with the mountains and clouds. My curiosity ultimately got the better of me, and I took off exploring a road that would its way up a steep ridge. An enormous conifer farm opened up before me with lines of fir trees. How different it was from the dense woodlands in which I hike. The view from the mountaintop was spectacular. I imagine waking up each morning to that view.
Standing on top of a mountain, I feel some of the freedom the birds feel as they soar through the air. I’m a bit envious. Before me, the enormity of the sky and heavens stretches out to eternity. I feel His presence so clearly and fully up here. It testifies to His everlasting love for us.
“Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Psalm 90:2 NIV
