This is an ongoing blog for the day. I am in Shenendoah National Park and will have no signal all day. I've been feeling really under appreciated and realized I have become a negative person. I need to be reminded of what God has given us. Last night I watched "The 5 People You Meet in Heaven" and it reminded me that God has a reason for everything that happens.1:00pm
Just got into the park. I came in via 522 because driving up the mountain there is an adventure in it's self. The attitude your surrounded by is the way life should be - we'll get there when we get there but until then, let's enjoy the ride.
1:30pm
I initially thought that this day should be a day for me to live without technology and just enjoy what God gave us in nature but I think maybe I forgot that He gave us technology as well. I have really enjoyed having a V6 today. It has allowed me to enjoy the drive more - as odd as that may sound. And while I may not have a signal, having my phone is more important than I expected. I assumed it would stay in the car but now I realize that with the camera and the ability to keep this ongoing blog, I can share this experience with others that may never get the opportunity. So I guess this just needs to be a day that I let God lead me and show me what He wants me to see.
1:50pm
Starting on the whiteoak canyon falls trail
2:25pm
Things change so much. To think that at one point all of our major cities were nothing more than nature - with a beauty like this park. I think things are meant to change for reasons we don't understand. While we may not like the changes to us or to the areas we live in, we should consider ourselves blessed to have experienced those times and carry those memories on to the next generation. If we spend all of our effort on fighting the changes then the memory of what we are fighting for will die with us.
2:55pm
While I said I was going to do no climbing on rocks, I couldn't resist one. While it really wasn't much of a climb, being able to sit up here with the sun shining down through the trees and beating off the stream was worth whatever it took. Truly, I didn't know how awesome it would look on top of this rock but I never would have known if I didn't take the risk. My gut said it would look great and I just had to act upon that. Sometimes I think we need to listen to our gut more often, despite the world telling us what is best. Many people would have told me not to climb the rock but the world doesn't have all the answers. We are supposed to go to school, get a job, make lots of money. There really is a place for that but each one of us is unique and if we try to live oir lives according to everyone else or to corporate america or whatever, we don't even scratch the surface of what we are capable of. We miss out.
3:15pm
Climbed another rock :)
I just passed a family that had a 3 year old that was crying non-stop. I don't know why someone could think their 3 year old could walk a 4-5 mile trail but it got me thinking of how often God pushes us to do something and we cry the whole time that we can't do it. We may know that He has a reason but we don't realize how beautiful the falls are at the end of the trail. Unless we had some one pushing us, we would never experienced something great. A parent does push their child to what they know they can handle. They push them to walk when they would rather crawl. They also expect the tears and screaming. A parent that loves their child wants them to grow and understand that its going to be a struggle for them as well as their child. They won't push their child beyond what is safe but definately will push them.
3:30pm
Some climbs are worth the view and some are not. We want to know if its worth it or not before we go but we don't know until we check it out for ourselves.
4:00pm
I met up with a group of people and its nice just talking to random people.
5:35pm
Stopped at the picnic grounds with the group of people I met up with.... After being taught an important lesson. The 3 year old that was crying on my way down... Well we passed them going up and the one girl in the group asked them if they needed help carrying her so three of us took turns carrying her. Man I needed that to happen. I'm someone who wants to help people and yet I got so into the why that I missed the opportunity. We do this a lot. We get so bitter up what is wrong that we miss the solution.
8:45pm
Just watching the end of the sunset. The group I had been hanging out with invited me to go to an outlook and watch it with them. We read Scripture and just really enjoyed God's creation. I can't believe how much we miss on a day to day basis. God has given us so much to enjoy every day but the problem is that we don't pay attention to it. Its amazing how everything fits together so perfectly. God has this world and our lives so perfectly timed but it seems that we never pay attention to His schedule.
I guess this day is winding down and that means this entry is as well. In a short while my cell phone will get a signal and while it sends this blog it will also receive lots of emails and maybe even voicemails and I will be attached to the world again but my hope is that I will remember the things God taught me today and that I remember that, in the same way He had me run into a great group of Christians, He will always provide my needs.....
.... And use me to provide for the needs of others
(C)2003-2008, Bob K Mertz - Some Rights Reserved
