Making Trails

 

This past weekend I hopped into the car with a friend and we traveled several hours north into a place called Potter County.  It is a mountain region filled with many beautiful nature trails and plenty of space to four-wheel, bike, hike, or simply indulge in the beauty of the out doors.

 

The locals affectionately call Potter County God's country, as the sign boldly states once you enter its borders.  And when you see the country side you understand why they say this.

On the first day we arrived my friend and I didn't waste time getting acquainted with the area.  We went hiking as soon as we could.  And my photos don't do the views justice.  It was so serene and peaceful.  Ferns blanketed the forest floors and pops of orange, red, and gold trees peppered the green canopy above us.  Wild flowers colored the hiking trails.

The breeze was cool. The rustling of leaves was very pleasant to the ears and the gentle sway of the ferns were pleasing to the eyes.  An occasional wild turkey here and there would cross our paths and we could hear birds singing high above.

 

My friend and I had joined a group of young adults from area churches at a cabin in the woods.  And after we all enjoyed the beautiful hike we decided to visit the local deer farm.  The deer were very friendly and would come right up to the gates to see if anyone had a treat for them.  

Some of the deer were very young and shy like this one below.  But so beautiful.  Hi Bambi!

It was such a beautiful weekend.  There had been weather reports of rain and stormy overcast weather for our weekend plans but the sun shone brightly our entire trip.  It only drizzled a bit at night. But that was fine with us.  We stayed in and played games.

And we had visits from several black bears too!  The first visitor literally sat down and snacked on the bear food we left outside in the backyard.  But he seemed to enjoy the marshmallows the best!  A bear with good taste I say!  I snapped a few photos but they didn't come out too well.  My camera doesn't like shooting long-distance photos in the dark apparently.

We had set up a camera outside to capture any creature who would be snacking when we weren't around.  It was during the very early morning hours that a mama bear with four cubs came to visit.  And you can bet we were sad that we missed them.  But mama bears can be very dangerous so perhaps it was God's doing to keep us from any possible harm. And we did get video of them.

I'm so awed by God's creation.  There is so much beauty in everything He creates.  And just as no tree is exactly the same, from its bark to its branches, so are we.  Each and every one of us are unique and exactly the way God meant for us to be.  Yes I know we still sin and we still make mistakes.  But remember that we are also new creations the moment we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We are shedding our old selves to reveal a beauty that will one day be seen.  And life for a Christian is just like the trees in the north.  We shed our leaves in due seasons and bloom again with new life.  God is our sun and rain.  He is the one that trains our roots to go deep.  And it is to Him that we stretch out our branches.

 There is a lot of craziness going on in the world right now but if you could just get away to nature for even a few hours then you would see that the world is still in His control.  The mountains and fields and trees and clouds still speak of His glory.  The deer and bears and birds still trust Him to bring them their food.

 God is good even when life is not.  The key is to live life believing that He will lead us through life... make trails for us to follow Him.  And when the night falls on us He will be right beside us, lighting the way.

 

" For 'the Earth is the Lord's and everything in it.'"

~ I Corinthians 10:26