And This is Why I Love Where I Live

Sometimes I have those moments. Those moments when I realize just how big God is, how small I am, how insignificant my life is, yet how immensely blessed I am.

Saturday morning I woke up and went to work just like any other day. I wore wedges and eye make up because I was feeling a little frumpy and large with my expanding stomach, and I wanted to feel pretty. I was tired, ready for a day off, and just wanted to get to 5 pm.

Zach ended up working late and we didn't have dinner until 6:30. We sat with a few other staff members, including our director William, and everyone was pretty mellow after a long day. The fire department had put a ban on all campfires due to the Santa Ana winds, so I made sure all the leaders knew that they weren't able to have one that night.

Zach and William decided they would go collect the firewood at the fire rings so that no one would wander down and start a fire. I asked if I could ride along, so we all piled into the 4x4 Gator and headed down. When William learned I had never been to Inspiration Point he said "alright, well lets go for a ride!" I have heard about Inspiration Point, and I knew it was only about a mile behind the office down a simple trail, but I never have taken the time to go there.

We rode down about a mile and a half until we couldn't drive any further and still be able to turn around (we were on the side of a steep dirt hill). Then he said "k, lets hike". Remember where I said I had put on wedges that morning so I could feel pretty..? So I went barefoot :)

We hiked down about another 100 yards until we reached it, Inspiration Point. A rock cliff overlooking acres of dense forest, a creek rumbling below us, and the view of the ocean in the distance. It was beautiful. We sat down on rocks and talked about our hearts for camping, the power of wilderness and taking people out of their every day life, away from cell service. We talked about the future of this camp and the myriad of possibilities. We talked about parenting and raising a Godly son. Being an example and loving the Lord first.

It was wonderful. And it was where I live. I didn't go anywhere else, just took a ride after work. When it got dark, we hiked back up to the Gator and rode back to our house.

As if that wasn't enough of God's glory for one night; a man had set up a deep sky telescope outside our house and we decided to go check it out.

For the following hour, we looked at stars in galaxies outside of galaxies millions of lightyears away. It was absolutely incredible. I can't believe how big our God is yet how small we are and how he loves us. He created such a beautiful world, and so much of it we can't even see with our naked eye. The bible says he knows the number of stars in the sky. While other people were taking turns looking in the telescope, my friend Becca just laid on the asphalt and stared up into the sky. We could see millions of stars. It was so beautiful. We laid there, listened to the sound of night in the woods, and talked about how much God loves us.

It was wonderful... and this is where I live.