Reflection | From seaside to mountaintop, God is with us

For over 25 years, my extended family vacationed on the coast of North Carolina.  For one week of the summer, we breathed in the salty air, buried our feet and bodies in the white sands of the beach, collected sea shells, tried to catch tiny crabs and lizards, and laughed and played in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.  The last summer my own family was at the beach, we stayed up late to await the hatching of a nest of 100 loggerhead sea turtle eggs.  It was an awesome sight to see the 2-inch hatchlings crawl from the dunes to the ocean to begin their new life. 

Breaking tradition this year, the family gathered in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.  An early morning outing led a small group of us toward the peak of Clingmans Dome, 6643 feet above sea level.  After parking our vehicle, we hiked the final half mile to the observation tower.  I paused often to catch my breath in the higher altitude, and to survey the lush plant and animal life.  The National Park Service reports that over 17,000 species have been documented in the park, with the possibly of another 30,000 to 80,000 species yet to be cataloged.  Though the view from the top was limited, there was a mysterious beauty to the evergreen trees visible through the smoky fog.  

As I think about vacations past, the words of Psalm 139 come to mind: "Lord, you have searched me out; O Lord, you have known me... Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast" (vv. 1, 7-9). 

Whether we're on the beach or at the bottom of the ocean, whether we're in the deepest canyon or on the highest peak, whether we're in the rain forest or on the prairie, whether we're away or at home, whether we're working or resting, God's people can trust that the Creator who marvelously made us and wonderfully works in us is leading us and holding us.