I went on a hike with my husband last Sunday. (Pause for laughter) I'm not particularly fond of hiking. Growing up in the Philippines, I had probably hiked, oh about...never. Somehow, being outside in "nature" just wasn't as exciting as staying at home watching cartoons and stuffing our faces with candy or wandering around the mall. I tried to describe the hike I wanted and he just said, "Oh, so you want to go for a walk." Lol. We did end up going to Tumbling Run . He was very excited to show me his favorite place to hike, and I was excited because I was gonna try to catch an owl or two! (wink wink)
Well, I didn't catch an owl that day. I guess it's back to looking at cute owls on the internet for now. Also, i'm proud to say I only screamed in horror once. I managed to kill a bug with my eye because it flew into it. And then I screamed again because I was sure it had laid it's monstrous little bug eggs in my eye! But it didn't. So it's all good. *Note to self: Bring protective eyewear when hiking.*
It was so cool to find little trails intertwining and connecting. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people, have walked through there--shaping little pathways that all lead up to the top of the mountain. You hike next to a little brooke running down boulders, rocks, and fallen branches. You hop, leap, and balance yourself up a trail that is constantly changing. David would clap his hands every now and then to alert wildlife that we were there. I was a more aggressive clapper. I clapped like there was no tomorrow. I just didn't want to be eaten by giant snakes or wild mountain lions with a taste for frail-looking little Asian women. For the most part though, I really enjoyed seeing my husband lavishing in the beauty of God's creation.
By the time we had reached the top, we were about ready for a nap. So he put up the 2 hammocks he had in his back pack and we just laid there for a while. It was also about that time that I realized how thrillers and horror movies kind of ruined me. I couldn't just relax and fall asleep. It just seemed like the perfect opportunity for that band of deformed mountain men to come out from behind the bushes and grab us and take us back to their little mountain hut full of people parts in jars. Either that, or for that lonely 40-something guy who lives by himself who likes to go "hiking" in the woods on weekends to shoot random hikers. Or, as I mentioned before, mountain lions. And bears. What's wrong with me? There we were on the top of the mountain--so peaceful, so quite and beautiful and all I could think of were all of these horrific scenarios of death and decapitation. How enveloped in darkness was my mind. There was a little black cloud on top of that mountain that day. It was me.
I have since resolved to...well...writing this blog entry. Over the years, I have become more and more open with my struggles and bringing them to the light. There's just so much freedom in seeing the darkness flee from the light...the old self dying and the new self being put on. I want to be conscious about the things I expose myself to, from now on. Some of the stuff out there is really destructive. The world is not like the movies--thank GOD! I am just so glad that I'm finally finding a release from the oppression of my imagination!
I really praise my Maker for every single solitary thing He does for me. He calls me to follow him and then equips me with every imaginable thing I could ever need to do it. How do you even begin to express gratefulness to Someone so inexpressibly good?
