"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike." (John Muir)
I was reading a couple days ago some Scripture from Exodus. It is the story of Moses and how God appears to him in a burning bush. Moses approaches to see why this bush in not burning up. God then speaks to Moses and tells him to remove the sandals from his feet for he is on Holy Ground.
I thought to myself how appropriate it is that when we are in the presence of greatness or something that puts us in awe we are indeed on Holy Ground. After watching the wonderful PBS series called "The National Parks - America's Best Idea" a few months ago I remember a scene where a Yosemite Park Ranger comes across a women standing in the middle of Cook's meadow in the central part of Yosemite Valley. She was looking up and around her, and just kept saying, "Oh, oh my, oh my." He went up to her and said "Ma'am, are you all right?" And she said, "Yes, I'm just fine. I just...oh, oh my." Now that is Holy Ground. Indeed, our National Parks are a place often where words simply do not seem adequate to describe the experience. You just feel it.
I am sure you have had this experience at least once when visiting a National Park. I know I have had my fair share of Oh, oh my, oh my..." experiences. Many of you may know that Mount Rainier has a very special place in my heart. I have been on a mission for many summers now to explore as much of "The Mountain" as I can. I also made a vow to myself I would never miss a summer hiking at least once through the meadows of the mountain. Now that is "Holy Ground" for sure!
I was reading a couple days ago some Scripture from Exodus. It is the story of Moses and how God appears to him in a burning bush. Moses approaches to see why this bush in not burning up. God then speaks to Moses and tells him to remove the sandals from his feet for he is on Holy Ground.
I thought to myself how appropriate it is that when we are in the presence of greatness or something that puts us in awe we are indeed on Holy Ground. After watching the wonderful PBS series called "The National Parks - America's Best Idea" a few months ago I remember a scene where a Yosemite Park Ranger comes across a women standing in the middle of Cook's meadow in the central part of Yosemite Valley. She was looking up and around her, and just kept saying, "Oh, oh my, oh my." He went up to her and said "Ma'am, are you all right?" And she said, "Yes, I'm just fine. I just...oh, oh my." Now that is Holy Ground. Indeed, our National Parks are a place often where words simply do not seem adequate to describe the experience. You just feel it.
I am sure you have had this experience at least once when visiting a National Park. I know I have had my fair share of Oh, oh my, oh my..." experiences. Many of you may know that Mount Rainier has a very special place in my heart. I have been on a mission for many summers now to explore as much of "The Mountain" as I can. I also made a vow to myself I would never miss a summer hiking at least once through the meadows of the mountain. Now that is "Holy Ground" for sure!
I have pulled all my Mount Rainier images into a single gallery on my website now. http://www.blueskiesphotos.com/-/blueskiesphotos/galleryindex.asp?c=13532
(If you go select the slideshow mode you get music with it as you view the pictures)
