The Beauty Within

So this past weekend I went on a woman's retreat at Lost Canyon Younglife camp. I wasn't expecting to get much out of the weekend because of past experiences at various retreats and the cold shoulder I often receive for being different. Of course with this attitude God decided to intervene and change me. On the second day we were given just over 2 hours to participate in prayer stations and spend time with God. I have to admit I did not participate in any of the offered areas and didn't want to be around anyone. Instead I grabbed my journal and Ipod and headed off camp to hike a near by mountain.
I have been up at Lost Canyon countless times and always see this mountain that is always taunting me to climb it. And every time I come up with an excuse. But not this time. I treked through the mud from the melted snow, then had to figure out how Ugg boots were going to grip on snow/ice.


After I few slip ups I figured out it was going to take a lot more concentration on where I place my next step then is I had on proper equipment. As the hike progressed the climb became extremely more technical. Mapping out my every move to avoid falling off the boulders and causing an avalanch. As I gained in elevation there was an increase in the amount of snow and the depth at which the ground was located underneath it.

At this point in the hike I have realized now that my boots have zero traction, my jeans are soaked, I should have brought climbing gear, spikes would have become in extremely handle, and I could easily run into trouble fast if I wasn't careful. Walking turned into bouldering which then turned into falling up to my waist through snow. Every step was a potential hazard. I feel through and the snow came up to my waist. Using a near-by tree I had to pull myself out, while being careful not to lose my boot or fall in deeper. After pulling myself out I emptied my boots of snow and decided to gradually gain altitude by slightly angling my path instead of going straight up the mountain. After a few more snow mishaps I eventually reached the summit and found a place to sit and journal.

After removing my boots and attempting to dry out my jeans I decided to disconnect from everything and turned off my ipod. The view was magnificant and beautiful beyond words. I sat in awe as I began to realize that God created everything, including myself. The breeze was cold and the wind picked up. I continued to sit in silence and observe the beauty God has created for us to live in.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 1:27

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:31

God created everything that I was able to see. He created me. I am made in his image. He sees me and says I am good. The beauty I see in God's creation of the earth is what He sees in me. Such a simple concept, yet we miss it daily. God loves us, He created us exactly as He saw fit, and He is pleased in us. Not because of anything we have done or can do, but simply because He created us and loves us.

It was getting cold sitting at the summit with no shoes on. So I put my still wet boots on and hiked down into an area sheltered by rocks from the wind. The wind was picking up and I could hear it through the trees. To the right was a forest of healthy trees. To my left was a 30 ft tree that was dead and ready to fall over.
The wind passed through the forest and the alone dead tree equally. Making noise and causing movement. This reminds me of the Holy Spirit. Although we cannot see the Spirit we can feel it, are moved by it, and can see the effects of it. The trees on my right were a live and were beautiful to look at, while the one tree by itself on my left had nothing left to offer. All the leaves had fallen off, it provided little shade, and was ready to fall down. Despite all of these things the wind still made noise and caused movement.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

As we would consider this tree dead and useless, it is beautiful and useful to God. Although we are like this single tree and can't do anything helpful on our own and people look at us as going nowhere. God sees us completely different and will use us anyways. The world views us one way and God insists on using us and declares us as good in another way. Our beauty and purpose are defined by our creator and He just happens to be The Creator. He made it all and saw that it was good.

Truths:
We are made in God's image.
He created the world.
He saw that the world and we were good.
He sends his Holy Spirit into our lives to guide us.
Although we cannot see the spirit we can see its effects.
We cannot see wind. We can see the effects.
Something that is dead, can still be useful.
Although we mess up and are dead, God fills us with His Spirit and makes us whole again.