Yesterday my wife and I drove up the Mt. Baker highway to its very end. \u00a0She wearing snow shoes, and I backcountry skis, we made our way higher and higher in the silence of a spring snowfall blanketing the upper reaches of the Cascades. \u00a0Light and shadow, wind and stillness, moments of clear visibility suddenly shrouded in cloud, silence: \u00a0this is the sensual feast of the mountains in springtime. \u00a0These elements do something to me that can only be described as \u201cshalom\u201d, a deep sense that this moment couldn\u2019t possibly be better than it is.<\/p>\n After our ascent and descent, the car journey to lower elevations continues to be a sensual feast, as we move from snowfall to rain, to mist, to dry, encountering everything from deep winter to full on spring in the process. \u00a0Trees at every stage of awakening are there for us to see. \u00a0Lilies are budding in wetlands. \u00a0It is all glorious, and my body responds viscerally. \u00a0I feel my blood pressure lower, feel peace washing over me.<\/p>\n My wife and I drive on in silence and ponder, \u201cWhy do silent snowfalls and mossy trees dripping with mist have this effect on me? \u00a0Why are these simplicities such a thrill, more thrilling than speaking to a thousand people, or seeing my favorite team win a game? \u00a0Why is it worth the effort to \u2018get out\u2019 like that?\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have easy answers, but somehow I know that I\u2019m made to read not only the Bible, but the book of God\u2019s testimony in creation, because that book speaks so profoundly to me of God\u2019s continued care for all of us. \u00a0Yes, we muck it up with oil spills, torture it\u2019s climate patterns with carbon consumption, and make a mess of God\u2019s water gift to us \u2013 but for all of that, there are still signs of God\u2019s abundant care, lavish beauty, and matchless grace and power. \u00a0The signs are there for the seeing, in the garden, in the mountains, on the sea.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a great deal I don\u2019t know, as I look to the future. \u00a0Our church is presently growing by beginning satellite campuses. \u00a0I\u2019m glad for this, and utterly convinced it\u2019s God\u2019s next step for us. \u00a0I\u2019m excited about the future for other reasons too. \u00a0After I finish the manuscript of the book I\u2019m writing (it\u2019s due in a couple weeks), we have some planning times as staff and leadership to ponder, pray, and plan about the future. \u00a0 The opportunities to make God\u2019s good reign visible in our city are abundant, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how God\u2019s directs to do just that, convinced that we\u2019re called to bring churches together to work collectively on serving our city. \u00a0These will be good days, energizing and inspiring.<\/p>\n But I\u2019ll be honest \u2013 \u00a0seeing a lily bloom in a pond, or fresh snow on the trees in the high country as I descend on my skis in silence are the things that energize me most of all. \u00a0I\u2019m \u2018sabbathed\u2019 and \u2018shalomed\u2019 by reading from the book of creation. \u00a0I don\u2019t know why it\u2019s this way, but it is \u2013 and so I\u2019ll keep learning to see the little things: new growth in the tree in my backyard, hummingbirds feeding, and rain on the roof.<\/p>\n Shalom \u2013 and please, pay attention.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday my wife and I drove up the Mt. Baker highway to its very end. \u00a0She wearing snow shoes, and I backcountry skis, we made our way higher and higher in the silence of a spring snowfall blanketing the upper reaches of the Cascades. \u00a0Light and shadow, wind and stillness, moments of clear visibility suddenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inhaling","category-rest-and-sabbath","category-rule-of-life"],"yoast_head":"\n