Denali Wilderness

(click to enlarge)












Well being the high-tech redneck that I am, I have managed to find a way to blog from the Alaskan Wilderness of all places. The photo above is a shot I took on top of a mountain looking towards Denali or Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. We did a bus tour of Denali Park and on my way back I got the wild hair to hop off the bus and go climb a mountain by myself. Being an Eagle Scout I knew that it was stupid to go alone because I would pretty much be dead if I made a mistake because no one was around, but I thought, "heck I'll only be here once," so I went on in spite of being alone and spotting a Grizzly Bear less than a mile away. So I took off up the mountain which I thought wasn't going to be too hard to climb, and shortly after my ascent I realized I was very wrong. I would walk 20 steps and lay down because of how steep the hill was. At several points I climbed on my hands and knees. Once I made it to the peak of this mountain the view of Denali was incredible. And as a I sat on top, all I could think about was the majesty and glory of our God who created the mountain sitting before me. There is something about being on top of a mountain that brings you closer to God and into His presence (Moses is a biblical example), or atleast I sure feel that way. I also had this thought; we often feel like we are going through life alone, that our prayers are hitting the ceiling, that God has abandoned us and is no where to be found. When those thoughts cross our mind all we need do is take a moment and look around at nature to see God's hand. Evidence of God is all around us, we just need to open our eyes and clear our minds from the daily mundane. One need not think of the future when it comes to heaven, heaven is on earth right now. God's kingdom can be found in the here and now. As a Christian, NOW is the day of salvation and eternal life. A little piece of heaven can be found when we are in the presence of God whether it be on top of a mountain in Alaska or sitting in our office chair. That's why Jesus would have us to pray for God's kingdom to "come here on earth as it is in heaven." We don't have to wait until we are dead to experience heaven, we can see it here on earth if we just take our blinders off and see the hand of God among us!




More Pictures from Alaska to come!!