God Showing Off

Part of what I get to do with college guys as a campus missioner is take them on journeys into the mountains. Today some students from Knoxville College went with me to see the mountains as the leaves continue to explode in colors. It was good for these guys to get off campus. They don't have cars, so all they see of their home away from home is their campus world. Wayne is a freshman from London, Bobbyson is from Haiti, and Joram is Rwandan. I was wondering how they would enjoy a drive in the mountains. Would it be boring? I mean when I was kid (granted I was a lot younger than these guys) my folks would take me for a drive in the mountains and all I remember is begging to go to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The trees and the mountains just did nothing for me. I needn't have worried. These guys were hungry for new sights and God just plain showed off today. We saw Newfound Gap and Oconoluftee Farm, which is a museum of what a 19th century farm would look like. After the farm it was over to Cherokee NC for a lunch at Garlic Knotts in Maggie Valley. We didn't have any deep spiritual conversations, we just drove and looked, and drank in what God was doing in the leaves and trees, the valleys and peaks and I was told by each that it was a perfect day, the best day ever. It was some time, a little gas, and basically just each of us showing up. God did the rest.

Living Peculiar

Today I went to the mountains with Zach. He's an outdoor guy. Zach climbs mountains all over the world, and used to work at one of the local outfitters here. He goes to Oxford now, the one in England, and while he was home on a visit he wanted to get together and hike to a place he'd not been to before. So I immediately thought of Charlie's Bunion on the AT. The thing about a hike with a friend is that it calls for the "windshield time" driving to the mountains and that's where good conversation took place. I haven't seen Zach in a year and it gave us time to catch up, even ease into talking about things that matter about living life. We hiked the 4 miles in an hour and a half, talking about life here and in grad school at Oxford and stopped to have lunch and take in the Bunion. It's a beautiful place, one of the first hikes I ever made 10 years ago when I started and one I love introducing people to. It's good to have a place like that, where the beauty is so great you just want to share it. Of course most things of value require a price and for me right now, with my aches, sore muscles are the price. There's time too though. You have to make the space in your day for beauty. We climbed out on the outcropping a little way to eat while some ladies threatened to call our mothers and tell on us for being crazy. It really wasn't that dangerous or crazy, but I can see how it might appear that way. I think there's a lesson there for the way to live everyday too. If you're trying to live in a way that isn't just about self, isn't just about playing it safe, I guess there will always be folks that think you're peculiar.

As we hiked down we passed the ladies again and one remarked that she didn't know how people could deny the Lord at work when you could see what we'd just seen. I agree.

Walkin' and Talkn'

I headed up to Mt. Sterling today with Bryan and Thomas to enjoy a good hike before UT starts up. It was great weather and the 2 miles up helped work up an appetite for the peanutbutter sandwiches. The fire tower gave us a great view but the fog was rolling through, covering the scenery. Even though we couldn't see everything, it was all there, and we were in the middle of it. That's a lot like life is down below. The best part of being up there was, as usually is the case, the conversation with friends.

Better Than A Ghost Story

Just took my 12 year old son on an overnight to campsite 18 an the West Prong Trail. There's a great secluded site across the creek and there were no campers at all last night so we had the creek to ourselves. Someone had left a pair of wet New Balance sneakers in camp and I sat them on a log near the creek. We messed around in the creek and then gathered wood and had dinner. Before dark we had a few games of chess and then it was time to settle in for the night. Ben asked for a ghost story but I couldn't think of any. I need to read a few or make some up before we head out again. I shined my light around camp before turning in and as I did, I saw two eyes reflecting back at me about 4 feet off the ground. I asked Ben if he could see them too. He was in the tent and had to maneuver around and then he saw them. "Do you think it's a deer?" I told him a deer wouldn't get that close, and they weren't moving, just watching. The tension mounted and and then he said what he'd been afraid to ask all along. "Is it a bear?" I told him it could be...(tension mounts).... or it could be......the reflective strip on the heels of those shoes I put on that log.
Now I will have to confess that I had a half second of concern myself when I first caught them in my light. So if you venture to #18 and can't think of good story, see if there isn't a pair of New Balance sneakers on a log you can use.