years and years ago
when i was in junior high...
i discovered the joy of
hiking solo;
i would get home from school
throw on a backpack
stuffed with my journal and a pen---
and off i would go,
stopping along the way
to jot some poetry
in my journal.
usually i didn't get home
until dinner time!
being up around the
trees and fresh air
always cleared my head,
helping me cope
with the social anxieties
that every junior high kid
experiences!
hiking
comes
natural for me;
growing up in a home
where my dad thought
camping meant
''backpacking'
with all our own gear---
and heading somewhere
no one else
would ever, ever
imagine going!! :)
(thank-you, Dad!)
my husband and i
hiked when we were
dating-
and then later
we hiked as a
young growing family;
we
took our daughters
on many, many hikes
as they were growing up.
we continue this tradition
with at least one
hike a year as
a family.
this year,
so far
so far
i have been lucky enough
to go on four hikes...
two hikes with family
and two hikes with friends.
the last couple hikes i did,
were so crazy beautiful...
it was easy to see why
my dad
used to say,
hiking was where he
felt the closest to
God.
it was impossible
to look at the beauty around me
and not
thank our Maker for it
all!
God's handiwork was
evident everywhere
i looked!
in the trees that sloped on the hills,
puffy clouds floating above me,
clear blue skies,
the sunshine glistening off the
icy lake,
the meadow bursting with flowers,
a bubbling brook,
rock formations that just begged
to be climbed.
in it all,
everywhere i looked...
abundant beauty
surrounded
me.
thankful. blessed. grateful.
always.
