This weekend a few friends I packed our bags and headed to my mountain cabin. We took a pit stop to take pictures in a sunflower field and then headed straight up the windy roads. I was excited to get away from school, cook some real food, and get out and hike in my favorite place, but I had no idea what God had planned. I obviously knew the girls who jumped in my truck to go on an adventure, but I hadn't really gotten to know them super well. We all chatted the whole ride and got to know some silly stories about each other. Once at the house we cooked dinner and continued to keep a meaningful conversation going. After dinner we made dessert (of course!), and I don't know if it was because a bunch of girls were eating chocolate, or what but the conversant started getting really good. We started talking about our past relationships, our future relationships, moral issues, church, our stances on important issues, and things got real deep and real personal. It was one of the best conversations I have had in a very long time. We calmed down on topics when our brownies were done cooking, but that was just the start to an amazing weekend.
My friends were gifted with an adventurous heart like mine and were excited when I suggested we wake up and go watch the sunrise from the top of the mountain. We woke up and pulled on some jackets as it is finally fall (yay yay yay! And we were on a mountain!), and headed off. We got to the overlook just in time to see the sun peak over the mountains and radiate down into the valley. We sat in awe of how beautiful it was, and marveled in how awesome our God is.
We then went back to the house, powered our bodies with some biscuits and gravy, and then piled back int the truck to head off on a hike. Once at the trail head, we set off on our journey. Again the conversation was amazing. After uphill and downhill and uphill and downhill, and crossing over creeks and going through camping spots, we made it to my favorite waterfall. We explored around, took pictures, and felt the freezing water but mostly we just enjoyed the magnificent and powerful beauty of Rainbow falls. We could not get over how huge and mighty this waterfall was, and if this waterfall made us feel so small, we can only imagine God's awesome and mighty power. We then went to the top of the falls and it continued to take our breathe away. After being convinced by some bystanders we took the plunge and slid down Turtle back falls into the heart stopping cold water.
After warming up and eating some snack we headed up town. We strolled along main street and fawned over the precious wedding that was taking place at one of the main street churches. We were able to hit one other waterfall before we ended the day by watching the sunset. Back at the top of the mountain from the morning, we sat and again watched as our Lord painted the most beautiful scene in the sky. Later at home, around the fireplace, the conversation got good. We started talking about what heaven is going to be like, and so many other deep and relevant topics.
Heading home on Sunday morning, I felt so incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to have witnessed God's creation with such a sweet and Christian group of friends. I had prayed for weekends and fellowship like this over the summer, and God answered my prayers. It was so amazing to have deep and hard conversations where we could speak our minds, but only feel love and understanding. I truly saw God show up this past weekend and I pray for many more opportunities like this.
