Certainly one of the highlights of the past few weeks was spending time in Parker, Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains. I enjoyed the company of two very special people, Dr. Keith and Lorna McDonald. The McDonald's have lived near the Rockies for over 40 years. Lorna is from Alberta Canada so the Rockies have been a part of her life since childhood. Needless to say, these guys knew a ton of history. They gave me a special guided tour of the range traveling through the famous Guanilla Pass which starts in the prairie and goes all the way above tree line. Because of the altitude, nothing grows much more that a few feet on the mountain tops. It was surreal. These two were great story tellers showing me Indian strongholds and hundreds of abandoned mines. The told me the story behind the saying "Pikes Peak Or Bust." They waited for just the right moment to deliver the punch line. We vertically climbed for what felt like hours and once we crested the mountain, they said, Imagine taking weeks to climb what we just accomplished only using mules to pull the wagons. Once at the top you're greeted with the breath taking view of dozens of other mountains and the sinking feeling that you may have bitten off more than you can handle. Pikes Peak was the first view of the Rockies settlers got crossing the prairies. They traveled long days to reach the peak thus the "or bust." Once there, they climbed the mountain only to find the mountains extended as far as the eye could see. While in Colorado, I was being pressed by God to consider the depth of His love. I had lost sight that His mercy, grace and love are without end. When I had my first glimpse from the top of one mountain only to see mountain tops that seemed to go on forever, I was overcome with emotion that God is anything but small and His resources are vast. It was a very spiritual experience. I see the words of Amos 4:13 in such a different light: For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and
declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and
treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of hosts, is his
name!
