Seeing God in the mountain

My husband and I are blessed to be visiting family and friends in our former home near Seattle.  Also being blessed with absolutely perfect weather, we spent yesterday at Mt. Rainier.  Every bit of the drive is magnificent as the mountain will suddenly appear as you turn around a corner and then disappear because of the trees and then reappear once again.   It was as if the mountain was teasing us with these intermittent views until we reached the top of the drive at Sunrise, the highest point in the national park one can drive.  And then she was there in all her glory seeming to be so close that we could have wrapped our arms around her if our arms had just been a bit longer.  Let the rivers clap their hands, and let the mountains ring out with joy before the Lord (Psalm 98:9)  Mt. Rainier and many other places in the Pacific Northwest are  healing places for me partly because the powerful beauty overshadows any human pain that I might experience. Send out your light and your truth that they may lead me and bring me to your holy mountain (Psalm 43:3)

Joseph and I walked on one of trails at Sunrise where each turn gave us a different view, giving over our grief of the past year: grief from our respective illnesses and for me, most recently, the grief of a failed relationship with someone to whom I was very close. I pour out my complaint before God and tell God all my trouble (Psalm 142:2) The mountain is a sign of God's presence and reminded me of how great God is.  If God can create something so vast and compelling, God can certainly remove and heal all of our wounds.  Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; for the Lord our God is the Holy One. (Psalm 99:9) As we walked, Joseph and I would simply stop and stare and join in silent prayer.  What a gift!