The Encounter

I look forward to going home someday, until then I am so blessed to call Colorado my home on earth. I often dream of living other places, but really I cannot imagine living any place more beautiful and full of wonder.

Hiking will always make me feel close to God.  You can see God’s love for beauty.  From rivers, rocks, trees and animals. Being out on a trail brings serenity- it is my escape when life gets overwhelming,. Being outdoors anywhere in Colorado fills me with peace.

I am so blessed to share this passion with special people, friends who feel that same joy from being under the clouds and vulnerable before God.

This week was a bit overwhelming to me for many reasons. I was able to get out twice this week and soak up some sun and walk among the trees. The days were warm, boarding on hot, but filled with life.   On Thursday of this week, I met up with a precious friend for a spur of the moment hike. We both needed girl time and we both love being outside. We hiked mid-day, so not my favorite time to hike.  I am a morning or evening hiker as I do not function at my best in the heat. We had already hiked about 3 miles and were headed back.  While I was talking my friend grabbed my hand and started praying and calmly her disposition changed dramatically.  I looked over my shoulder and my heart stopped.

We had just rounded a corner at the bottom of a hill and right beside us, no more than 20 feet away was a large brown bear.  It is not uncommon to have bear sightings in our neck of the woods, it is however, truly the first time I have ever encountered one face to face. Words cannot even describe it.

Clearly we did not go unnoticed. It was ever so clear that he saw us, he did not retreat as we thought he would.  He watched us closely for good while,  we kept hiking as we tried to keep an eye on him but not lock eyes with him.   My friend was singing a song for protection as I was praying for God to protect us.

Unfortunately the rest of our hike was uphill, literally all uphill.   It was hot, my heart was racing, my mouth was cracking from the dryness, I tasted blood in my throat from the dryness.  While both fairly calm on the outside, inside I think we were both not really sure how the rest of this hike was going to turn out.   At one point in our hike we rounded another corner and headed uphill,  this hill was now parallel to where the bear ascended to keep an eye on us.  Were we going to run into him again at the top?  What would or could we do?  It is truly a pretty helpless feeling.  The only thing we could do is keep calm, continue walking and PRAY!   God was there, he was so there with us.  He protected us and got us out of there physicaly unscathed.   This hike tested me in so many area’s,  it is such a blessing to be on this side of it all, it tested my faith, my endurance and strenghtened me in many ways.  I am so thankful that God was there with us.