Day Nine

April 9

Resurrection Sunday

If I tried to put into words the experiences we’ve had today - I could only scratch the surface and barely do it justice.

I would have to try to describe the brilliant blazing sun as it pierced through the clear blue sky - not a cloud in sight.

Or maybe I could take you to the base of the mountainside - to look in all directions and see majestic mountains rising in every direction… snow, still tightly packed deep within the crevices - meters deep.

Or maybe I could try explain the near defeating silence at nearly 4,000 meters high (12,000 ft)… when there is nothing but Heaven and a handrail holding you back from plunging deep below.

Or the clear mountain air…
Blue glacier rivers…
Quietness
Stillness
Peace

My aunt and I took the cable cars to visit Aiguille du Midi rising high above the Alpine resort town of Chamonix. Leah “chickened out” - fearing for her life in a sealed cubicle that hosts more than 450,000 visitors per year.

Instead…

She opted to parachute from high in the mountain Alps. I think maybe her 18 year old mind operates on a slightly different wavelength than mine.

While I waited for her to launch, I parked the car high on the mountainside tucked away next to little chalets and stunning waterfalls.

There was a grassy area just beyond where we parted ways… and I truly cannot put into words the gift of the next hour on this day.

I can only say it’s something I’ve only dreamt of... Never in a million years could I have ever expected to have had a moment like this (on Easter Sunday of all days!)

It was like a scene from the Sound of Music or Heidi…

I could only sit
ponder and pray-
in total awe.

I felt both small,
yet whole.

Tiny,
yet seen.

It was an experience, I won’t soon forget.

I found a colony of beehives (reminding me of home…) near the clear mountain streams weaving their way down the mountainside to the river below. Green lush grass, surrounded by white capped mountains, and the giant blue sky went on forever.

(Well, on and on forever, until I might have spotted a blue and grey parachutist doing acrobatics above me - headed for the village below… Leah, my daredevil…)

These are the days we collect up precious gifts to take home for tomorrow. The days ahead.

Not gifts that get crammed into my overpacked luggage - but rather ones we will carry deep in our hearts.

Gifts of Courage
Tenacity
Faith
Joy

Gifts of Rest
Hope
Peace
Grace

These are the treasures we seek to add to our lives… that we might we carry the fragrance of Heaven…

We tuck these gifts away…
experience after experience.
moment after moment.

Growing
Learning
Trying
Becoming

It is by His Grace, we have these treasures stored up in earthen vessels…

We ask to for courage to faithfully steward whatever He sees fit to entrust to our care.