Here's a vivid memory.I'd driven halfway across the country to make a solo backpacking excursion in Wyoming's Wind River Range. After hiking 11 or so miles with a heavy pack on the first day, I ended up here.
I spent 6 days alone in the mountains on that trip, covering approximately 42 miles. I experienced thunder-snowstorms at 12,000 feet for the first time. I spent three days (shared only with a coyote as evidenced by tracks in the fresh snow) in a basin that is the equal of anything in The Lord of the Rings for sheer grandeur. I climbed a thousand feet in treacherous conditions to come within view of Gannett Peak, only to turn back because of the weather and the extreme risk it brought.
Being there alone was an incredibly powerful experience.
I can say for certain that I've never "felt" the tangible presence of God as I did during that time. Not in church, not in a worship service and not during a sermon. Of course, all those things are good in their proper place. But like anything, they can also impede our experiencing the magnitude of God's plan.
It seems I must get away - really away - in order to empty my consciousness of all the detritus, daily cares and temporal concerns that regularly harass me. It is then that perhaps I am able to see more clearly - maybe even come to "know" a few things.
Father, help me to remember today what by your Spirit I knew then.
