Just look around and you'll find the very face of God

Aside from music, mountains were an essential part of my formative years. It is there that I discovered God; there that I first saw how our world is relatively small. Each summer, I spent my days on a trail. I explored the beauty of nature, and the nature of the way things are. And I grew up. A lot.

The trip down was always amazing. It was the same path, but a different sight. With a different perspective, there were new things to see. When you climb a mountain, your focus on the trip up is always on the goal - the peak you are climbing. But what do you look at on the hike back down? You can't look behind you; walking down a mountain backwards would be dangerously foolish. Much like life, you should only look back to remember... to see where you've been.

And so you descend. Elated with accomplishment, exhausted from the climb up. There is an unexplainable feeling that you were in a holy place. You gain a new perspective.

Through my experiences, walking down from many mountains, I feel the significance of words sung in Walk Down This Mountain by Bebo Norman. "So walk down this mountain with your heart held high. Follow in the footsteps of your maker. With this love that's gone before you and these people at your side. If you offer up your broken cup you will taste the meaning of this life."

I was glad to have people with me on those hikes, to be able to share those trails with people who cared about me. Even now, I am grateful that I am not alone.