A Walk in the Garden of GOD

NOTE: All images in this post are clickable for wallpaper size.

“Thou art the God of the early mornings, the God of the late at nights, the God of the mountain peaks… but my God, my soul has further horizons… higher than any mountain peak… Thou who art God of all these, be my God.” (Psalm 139)

While I was in Colorado I got to take a day to do the one thing that “re-creates” me most deeply, spend time alone, with God, in nature, with only a camera and an iPod loaded with worship music….. ahhhhhhhh

The place was “Garden of the Gods” but I prefer to call it the “Garden of God.” It’s a place I often visited as a young boy living in Colorado, so it was so nice to visit again decades later!

There is just something powerfully refreshing to walk around a place that is so ageless, it somehow puts your life in perspective… God is not in a hurry. He takes his precious time to do His work, and it is always a master peice.

The view from the highway heading in.

I love to climb, but was not equipped to rope climb on this trip, though I did spot these climbers right beyond the ‘stay on the sidewalk’ sign!

Of course, they had a permit, so I was the one off the sidewalk, though I enjoyed getting to meet this US soldier on a break from Iraqi climbing with his wife. They were here to climb from California – living within hours of Yosemite, but not yet ready to climb there. It was nice to hear this soldiers wife speak both of her fear but moreso of her pride in what her husband is doing in his service for the county. As I often hear from every soldier I talk to, the media is greatly misrepresenting the war and ignoring all the good and wonderful things that are happening over there. This soldier was most upset that they fail to honor the many US and Iraqi citizens that are killed volunteering for many of the most dangerous positions because they believe in what the United States is accomplishing over there. History will prove that, while it is a painful and tragic process, America is doing a good thing and bringing about changes that will greatly help the entire region as well as keep America safer. Those that don’t get it yet, have their head in the sand. Our enemy is real, and defeat is the only way they will cease their mission to destroy us and our love of freedom. “Ant-War” is a slanted phrase, for it suggests if you are not anti-war, you must be pro-war. No one I know is ‘pro-war’ – war is ugly and painful, but necessary. Instead, I like to say we ought to be pro-America, and pro our TROOPS and that means PRO-their mission! Victory is the only option. Those who would have us turn tail and run in defeat or failure have forgotten 9-11 and the lessons past world wars. But I digress….

A climber that I spotted, he is MUCH higher than it appears in this photo. He is actually over half way up the mountain that is behind the one in the forefront of this picture.

I love using my ten second timer and running to get pics of myself at cool places throughout the day….

It was REALLY TOUGH to get up there in ten seconds! :)

I spotted these piles of berries several times along the way and a fellow hiker told me they were safe and healthy to eat. I’m not sure… they tasted HORRIBLE! Soft and sorta stale. Maybe if they had been fresh?

Night time at the Garden was spectacular!

One of the many lessons I’ve learned this past year, is that you MUST take time for the things that re-create you. I used to live as though “recreation” was just the “fun” stuff of life… and I missed the “re-creating” aspect of the things that truly refresh and refill and rejuvinate me. For me, one of the most powerful is getting alone in nature with my camera.What is it for you? If you don’t know, make it a New Year’s Resolution to find out, and if you do know, schedule it now… it will never “just happen.”

ENJOY THIS VIDEO I MADE THAT
HAS EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES
OF THE GARDEN OF GOD!

Download link: Garden of God
(QuickTime 18.2mb, just under 4 minutes)