We encountered this tree on our hike in the New River Gorge. From a distance, I really couldn’t tell what it was. Only once I got closer could I see it was a tree. What makes a tree grow like this? Something obviously happened – lightning? Another tree falling on it? Maybe a person intentionally bent it.
People have a history we don’t always understand.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalms 27:13
(Photo: Ogle Lake, Brown County State Park in Indiana)
The New River is well known for whitewater rafting and kayaking. The Lower New River has a vertical drop of 250 feet in 16 miles, much of which occurs in a series of rapids. Those rapids are barely visible as whitewater in this photo taken about 1000 feet above the river. They are much more impressive up close, as seen and experienced on the water. The more challenging rapids (class III, IV and V) have detailed descriptions online including instructions on how to best navigate them.
Life has plenty of “rapids”. Fortunately, we also have instructions on how to navigate them.
This photo was taken not too long before sunset at New Smyrna Beach. I take a lot more sunrise pictures here – you don’t actually see the sun setting; the view is ENE. The sky caught my attention this evening with the moon and mix of colors in the clouds.
A wonderful reminder that God can not only be found in unexpected places but also at unexpected times.
It seems like when we go hiking and see falls, it has often been when it has been relatively dry and there is only a small amount of water flowing over the falls. Often the falls are still very impressive because of the height and surrounding terrain, but not the same experience as seeing them when the water is flowing full force over them. This is a photo of Kates Falls in the New River gorge in February after considerable rain. Definitely a good time to see them.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
This photo was taken at the Miller Nature Sanctuary, near Bainbridge, Ohio. Not only do I enjoy seeing these type of natural formations, I enjoy reading about how they formed.
In a similar way, I find that reading the Bible is more meaningful when I also use commentary from someone who has studied the Bible. I currently am using The Bible in a Year podcast.
This photo was taken at New Smyrna Beach in March. It was so windy that there was this foam on the beach from the ocean surf.
God is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and bring forth the wind from God’s storehouses. Psalms 135:7
Signs Along the Way 