This picture was taken at the Great Channels of Virginia, on the cliff’s edge, peering down at where we had come from to get to where we were. The trail was taxing at times, even to the point of having to stop to catch our breath, yet the anticipation of the destination was enough fuel to carry us on along our way. Approaching the Channels and her mammoth size sandstones gave me butterflies. Hopping along her spine was a mesmerizing invite, yet one slip of the foot would send you hurling downward 40 to 60 feet to the caverns floor (well if you were lucky enough to make it to the bottom – some places gave you the idea that you might become the next object wedged so intricately in the display!) Walking down into the channels gave one the feeling that you were traveling through a magical wardrobe into an enchanted land from ages past. It’s difficult, almost impossible to describe all that my eyes beheld! The beauty, the magic, the traces of history, trees growing out of rocks, colors more impressive than a rainbow, slithers in caverns that invited you to come in. Some led to dead ends giving you the sneaky sense that you were captured inside an old Egyptian booby trap and at any moment tons of sand would pound upon your helpless self, while others, with enough effort and maneuvering, found you in another room full of awe and wonder. The faces in the rock formations intrigue me the most. ‘Keepers of the way” as I like to call them, evidence of a lifetime I know nothing of but if I take enough time to linger, I will have the honor of connecting to those who have passed before me.
We could have lingered for days in these channels and still not have gleaned all of the riches intertwined within her. It was difficult to leave, something in my soul was just not ready to say good bye, and as we made our way back out onto the trail, we discovered a side step that lead us to the destination of this picture, the best seat in the house. With careful steps, we ventured to the edge, knowing that one false move would be the end of life as we know it. Right at the corner of the way stood this annoying little bush with barren, prickly branches that seemed to want to prohibit my arrival and rob me of the view that was mine to behold. Yet my perseverance outweighed the timidity that was rising in my throat and, wah-lah! Here I sit. Victorious! Amazed! And free! It was at that moment I heard distinctively in my spirit “Look where you are and see where you have come from.” I knew that my heavenly Father was getting ready to reveal something grand to me. My eyes gazed upon the trail below me. The twists, the turns, the ups and down and the level plateaus. My mind pondered on each step that it took to get to the destination of our journey. The sights along the way; some breathtakingly beautiful, some intriguing, exquisite, some ordinary and I’m sure some that were worthy but missed due to the concentration and focus on what was awaiting me.
The wind rustled through my hair and brushed my face like an unseen hand. It was only seconds, perhaps a minute or two that I sat on the edge, but a lifetime passed before my eyes and I saw:
A lonely child, heartbroken, beaten and afraid.
A young woman, angry, confused, stripped of worth and identity.
A wife hungry for love and approval.
A mother discovering a love so fierce that nothing in time nor space could extinguish it.
A student passionately discovering a truth that refreshed, renewed, affirmed, healed and transformed.
A minister fervently sharing the good news that broke chains and set the captives free.
A woman revealing her heart and soul, exposing the depths of who she was and how she had come to be. Bearing the scars of adversity yet standing tall, strong and victorious. Familiar with loss but embracing the blessings.
A survivor overcoming her fears.
Hungry to live, to love, to laugh, to discover.
The Great Channels – a magical place that had been formed from adversity. Had the pressure from the ice wedges not shattered the capstone, no one would have ever been able to venture inside the maze of passages and discover the beauty that lied within the heart of the mammoth stone. On a beautiful spring day in April, I found a part of me hidden in those ancient passages. My soul identified with the adversity that was necessary to break open the stone and reveal the treasure that lie within. My life resembled the trail with its ups and downs, its times of leveling out, beautiful times along the way, times I surely missed while focusing on something else, and my, oh my how many stickly bushes had wanted to prevent me from taking that next step. Had it not been for the times of adversity and pain I would not be who I am today. My heart sighed, rejoiced, lingered and somehow expanded as I sat on that edge, knowing not only had I visited a magical place full of awe and wonder, I had also found a piece of my soul and would travel home enriched, more complete than when I arrived.
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