I not only found God's goodness in chaos but in Chacos too!
If you don't know God's goodness or feel like you have never experienced it, please please listen to this testimony of how truly amazing God is. He is so good that He saved me and nine friends' lives on the side of a mountain. No, I'm not being dramatic-- search and rescue literally told us that we defied all statistics (but really, all the credit goes to God).
A little back story... I and nine friends went on a hike during our retreat with Central Phoenix YoungLife in Payson, AZ. It was a beautiful, sunny and brisk day; we adventured out in minimal layers of clothing. Our 3-hour hike turned into a real adventure when we reached a point where turning back would be more dangerous than continuing to scale up the mountain. After crossing Christopher Creek at multiple locations, hiking through sticker bushes and loose dirt, and finally climbing large rocks (with only a few tumbles) we arrived at the rim. Surprisingly, Google Maps was still our friend after a 2,000 feet change in altitude. We were led to a road where our friends would be able to pick us up. Little did we know, at the top of this peak there was snow. Not just a little snow, but a good 4 feet that closed the road that led them to us.
Pro Tip: don't wear chacos for a long period of time in the snow, your toes will turn a deep purple and you will lose all feeling in them!
God miraculously placed a cabin in the middle of the woods for us to escape to after much time wandering. Long story short, search and rescue came on snowmobiles (that was pretty exciting) and we were back to camp after 15 hours of "adventuring."
But how was God "good" you may ask?
God gave us so much strength whether it was the strength to conquer our fears or strength to keep pushing when our bodies were numb and weak. God protected us on the side of the mountain and gave us the most beautiful view to remind us of His precious creations. God gave us that cabin filled with paper towels and tin foil for our toes, candles and matches for light and hard (expired) spaghetti noodles for food. The search and rescue team told us that there shouldn't have been cell service, but our four phones never lost service and we had enough battery to call our parents -- that was truly a gift from God! If you asked any of us, we never stopped feeling Jesus's presence.
If this picture doesn't show just how present Jesus was, through our smiles, then I don't know what would! Because honestly why are we smiling when we are stuck in a cabin during a blizzard?? JESUS!
That cabin time was something so special, from the contagious laughter to the hour of singing worship songs, to reading a devotional which told us to not be afraid, for God is holding us in His right hand. I can tell you that God picked us for a reason and He provided for us both spiritually and physically. God came in the form of a tree to catch us when we fell, sturdy rocks to climb and He caught our tears while we prayed. God was so good to bring all of us home safely; in fact, we are the largest group that the Forrest Hills Search and Rescue team has brought back all together, practically unharmed. Statistically, they told us we shouldn't be alive but all we could tell them was that it was by the grace of God. We constantly felt Him holding His hand over us wherever we were.
If this doesn't show you the goodness of God, then I don't know what possibly could. This adventure was a testimony of God's grace and a testimony of us submitting all of ourselves to Him and His will. He took all of our fear that held us down and gave us hope, made us feel loved and gave us strength.
PSALM 121:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
