The Mountains Are Calling

I took this picture through the window Saturday morning. Every morning I wake up to this sight leaves me more and more in awe of God.

Over the next week, I will be housesitting/petsitting for friends who are going on vacation. Thursday night was my first night at their lake house, and to be honest, it was initially a rough night. I didn’t sleep very well due to a number of factors, and when I initially woke to the light of the rising sun and the sound of the dog begging to go soak in the morning sunshine early Friday morning, I felt a little grumpy. I went back to sleep after letting the dog out and feeding the pets, hoping that a little extra sleep would give me just enough energy to do everything I needed to on Friday.

When my alarm finally broke my silent slumber, I definitely felt more refreshed than before. I sat up and put on my glasses. Turning to the window, I was awestruck at the sight before me. Right outside the window was a vast array of colorful trees, rainbow leaves floating through the crisp air, and a rippling lake. I felt a little breathless, and as I got ready for the day, I couldn’t help but keep coming back to that window to look out at the beauty of the scene. What was it about looking at the trees, the lake, and the sky that left me feeling so peaceful and so much more intimate with God?

Each time I came back to the window, I felt this sense that this is where I’m meant to be—not that I’m supposed to live in my friends’ house forever, nor that I am even meant to have a lake house of my own one day. No, this feeling ran deeper. I had a sense that I am meant to be in touch with nature, that we were made to live according to the natural rhythms of work and play and rest. I don’t think we were ever meant to live such busy, “nonstop” lives. I think we are drawn to nature because it calls us to disconnect with the world and to reconnect with our Creator. Nature really does declare the glory of God, and in connecting with nature, I think we get a little taste of heaven on earth, a little taste of God’s glory. The mountains are calling, friends, inviting us into the worship of God, and I, for one, would like to sing along.