the day i saw the mountains

posted on 25 July 2010

Back in March, I wrote this post for our 15th anniversary and included a photo of Jerry standing on the Royal Gorge Bridge at the Kansas plaque…

“This man… held tightly to my hand, talking to me, the whole way across the Royal Gorge Bridge, because he knows I am deathly afraid of heights, knowing I wanted to face that fear and see the wonder and beauty of God’s handiwork.”

At the time of the post, I was unable to find the photo of me standing by the plaque. I looked through all of our photos in the keepsake boxes. I thumbed through each photo album. I investigated every nook and cranny where I thought I might have put that photo.

But I happened upon it in a whole different spot.

Last week when I was down at my parents’ visiting with Dad about the photos from his albums, I looked over at the piano and lying there was a small stack of color photos. I walked over, picked them up and gasped. There it was! In with a handful of photos taken those few days in 1994. Second copies I’d had made and mailed to Mom and Dad. Talk about serendipitous!

That photo, and one other of me, brought back a flood of memories of that day in 1994 when I saw the mountains for the first time in my life. I was awestruck by the grandeur of what God has created with the things of this earth.

The first photo is me with the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. You can’t see it in this photo (I can see it in the real one), but there’s a snow-capped Pike’s Peak directly above my head (waaaaaay behind the closer, darker peaks). We had been camping overnight at Lake Pueblo State Park — I’d just climbed out of the tent and scrambled to the highest point on the hill behind our campground. It was early morning, very chilly for June and somewhat overcast, but most of the distant mountains could be seen clearly. I do have a set of 5 photos I took in panoramic style but the details are hard to pick out now that the photos are so faded.

The better photo is me on the Royal Gorge Bridge at the Kansas plaque. The mountains are easily seen in this view.

Standing there, I caught glimpses of the sparkling Arkansas River between the wooden planks of the bridge and could detect it in my peripheral vision… at that point 1,053 feet below.

Have I mentioned “…I am deathly afraid of heights…”

But the fear in my mind of the height was nothing compared to seeing what God has created. And with the Lord, and Jerry, both holding my hand, I knew I was fine.

Even though I was quaking in my sneakers. And trembling a bit from the chill of the day.

There were still tears in my eyes and thankfulness in my heart for being allowed to witness God’s beauty firsthand.

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you—the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. [Psalm 121 - NIV]