Call me a mountain man, well a mountain man who lives in the city, likes to shower every day, and keep a clean shaven face. But call me a mountain man anyway. My heart swells at the sight of the Rocky Mountains. Maybe it’s because I lived in Vail, Colorado for seven years, or maybe it’s because I’m a Colorado native who grew up in hot, flat, Oklahoma. My love for the mountains just must be in my blood.
My family has always held the mountains in a special place. Back in the 90’s when we were still living in flatlander Tulsa, Oklahoma, my family went on a mission trip to Costa Rica. As we were driving through the cloud forest in the mountains someone mentioned Psalm 121, you know, the one about mountains and how awesome they are and how our help comes from them. Ever since then I’ve had a strong connection between God and the mountains.
I came home from Costa Rica with a love for the mountains in my heart and a passion for God in my soul. That short week is why I eventually moved to Guatemala. Heck, I even lived in the mountains while in Guatemala. There’s just something about the mountains.
A couple of weeks ago something major happened for my family in the mountains. My sister, Emmy, decided to have my dad baptize her in Piny Lake.
Emmy led our family over to Piney Lake as the sun crept over the majestic Gore Range. The morning was warm, but the water was cold. My dad spoke confidently, saying:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm —
he will watch over your life; 8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Emmy turned her eyes to the mountains and made a statement that she would always look to the Lord for help. The Gore Range and Piney Lake will never be the same for me. When I think of them I will think of how great my God is and how He saves us.
What do you see when you look up to the mountains? I’m always reminded of how much God loves me. That is why the mountains always win.
Fulford, Colorado is the happiest place on Earth. At least that’s what my friends call it, and I tend to agree with them. And I am lucky enough to have friends who own a cabin in the happiest place on Earth.
This little mountain community is ten miles up into the White River National Forest just below New York mountain, away from any type of civilization. No cellphones, no tv’s, and no computers. You couldn’t even read my blog if you wanted to. Well, I guess some cabins up there have satalite dishes, but I sure don’t go up to the cabin to stay connected to the world.
Yes, Fulford is great for hiking, fishing, and star gazing, all great things to do in the mountains, but I love Fulford because it is a great place to relax. Whenever my family is able to stay at the cabin, we set aside any agenda. If we want to wake up early and go for a walk, we do it. If we sleep in and then relax on the couches drinking coffee or hot chocolate, we do that.
Fulford is not a place for the busy lifestyle. Last week in my blog, I wrote about how we need to slow down as we experience life. Fulford is a place that forces you to slow down. While I was up there this weekend, I finished the entire collection of Sherlock Holmes (of which I had been reading on and off for three years) took a hike, and napped.
If you really want to know what to do in the mountains, follow my advice. Find a quite spot, in a cabin, or in a tent, and read. Read until your eyes are too heavy and then take a nap. God wants us to relax. If we are always on the go we wont have enough concentration and energy to notice him.
I’ve been trying to live spiritually this year, and sometimes I forget that God just wants me. He doesn’t want me to do anything special, yes it was fun hiking Mt. Elbert, but he would rather have me. And that takes some quiet time. That is why Fulford is the happiest place on Earth. It takes you away from every modern comfort and forces you slow down. And I find when I am living slowly I feel more complete.
I hope everyone is able to go on a vacation this summer, short or long, heck Fulford was just a weekend trip, and is able to relax. If you haven’t found time to get up into the mountains or some other quiet spot, then turn off your computer and power down all of your other distractions, ’cause God wants you to have some time with just Him.
Colorado is a pretty amazing place to live, and like Ferris Bueller said, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
This year I’ve been trying to live spiritually, which means slowing down so I don’t miss anything. Especially anything God has for me here in Colorado (Because that’s where I live so it’s best to open my eyes to what God has for me in my home state).
The other week, during the first week in June, something out of the ordinary happened and I was blessed enough to see witness it.
On June first, I went biking up Waterton Canyon in South West Denver. Waterton Canyon had been closed for the last two years, so I was pretty excited to be able go for a ride up the road next to the Platte River. On my way up the trail I came across a heard of Rams. It was amazing, but a couple came a little too close for comfort.
As I stood by my bike taking pictures, a couple of bikers slowed down to look, but then sped off. It was as if they had seen such puny wildlife before. Maybe this was special to me because I hadn’t been biking in Colorado in almost two years, but maybe it meant more to me because I went on the ride with my eyes open. I wanted to see what God had for me.
I could’ve stayed home and not gone on the ride. My bike was broken and I knew I would have to borrow a girl’s cruiser bike to be able to even go on the ride. I was tired and would have enjoyed a nap. But living spiritually means getting out on the trail even when it means a difficult ride.
Living spiritually means stopping and watching God’s wildlife, trusting that He’s in control. Those rams were wild and I’m lucky they didn’t decide to fight my bike. Or maybe I’m blessed to live in Colorado where I can see God’s wild creation if I just open my eyes.
What have you seen lately? Are you biking right past the rams or are you living a little more like Ferris Bueller?
Don’t miss the life God’s given you. Join my dad, Eugene Scott, and me as we look for the amazing in our daily lives. Start living spiritually with us.
Some of you might be wondering what a Super Chivo is. Well in English, it is a Super Ram, which is the mascot for Xela’s soccer team. And it so happens that I was wearing my Xelaju soccer jersey on the ride and so maybe the ram didn’t ram me because I am a Super Chivo!
“Good morning, Sally. I’ll be right out. I just woke up and I need to shower.” It was 3:44am and my brain was having a hard time registering the voice at the other end of the phone. The caller ID said, “Sally,” but it sure sounded like a man. “We’ll wait for you outside,” replied Cliff Hutchison.
Fortunately, I had packed all of my gear the night before, which made waking up five minutes before the estimated departure time a little easier. It’s still not a great idea to wake up minutes before driving three hours into the mountains for a hike, especially Mt. Elbert.
The Mountain
Located in Lake County about 10 miles southwest of Leadville, Colorado in the Sawatch Range, Mt. Elbert climbs all the way up to 14,433 feet tall, but I’ve heard unofficially that it is 14,440. Either way, it’s the tallest mountain in Colorado, and the second tallest in all of the continental United States, making it a formable hiking foe.
The Trailhead
My alarm’s little stunt didn’t slow us down. We made it all the way from Denver to the Half Moon trailhead in two hours. Showered in golden sunlight, our feet hit the trail at 6:30am. We’d been warned not to start later than 5:30 if we wanted to summit before 12. It’s always a good idea to summit before noon, because after noon the weather can get really crappy. However, being young and strong and athletic and confident and amazing, we didn’t listen to that advice.
The Trail
The Northeast Ridge trail of Mt. Elbert is listed on 14ers.com as an easy hike. I think what they mean by easy is at no point do you have to scale the cliffs of insanity, swim through eel infested waters, or battle R.O.U.S’s.
The hike might be easy to the avid hiker, but if you haven’t hiked a 14er before, or if you don’t hike much, I would suggest not starting out with Mt. Elbert. He’s a beast of a mountain. We took the standard route, which starts you out on the Colorado Trail. Taking this route will only give you a 4,700 feet of elevation gain. Easy.
The Wind
The only bad part about the day, other than my alarm trying to keep me from breathing the thinnest air in Colorado, was the wind. Zane, the only one on our team who had hiked Mt. Elbert before had said something like, “you can’t even feel the wind up at the top because the air is so thin.” However, on our way up the trail, through the pine trees that dot their way along the Colorado Trail, the wind bit at our noses. Even though the first part of the trail was steep, we all trekked on together. Hiking is more fun when you have a group to traverse and converse with.
We split up a little once we made it past tree-line, which is where the wind got really nasty. AJ, our youngest hiker, and his dad made it a little more than half way, but decided not to summit. I’m guessing because the wind was too much.
“That Zane Gordon is full of . . .” The wind blew Andrew’s words away. Andrew is a giant of a man, and as we climbed past the first false summit even his six foot seven inch frame bowed to the power of the wind. With the wind pushing against us, we kept trudging further up and further in.
The False Summits
As bad as the wind was, the worst part of the hike were the false summits, which were demoralizing. My body had geared up for the finish, I’d even started to push a little harder because I knew I was almost done. But then I came to the crest of the peak and the mountain had grown, we’d reached the first false summit. Mt. Elbert is the tallest peak in Colorado for a reason.
As the rest of our team pushed for the summit I noticed Andrew and Tim slowing down. I’ve climbed a couple big peaks and know that there’s no shame in slowing down, not sprinting up to the top (the word sprint used here to mean walked uphill at a steady gate).
Sticking with Andrew and Tim was the best part of hiking. I came on the trip to hike with my friends, rather than coming to take off and reach the summit all by myself. As we slowed down I kept track of time so we would not miss our window of opportunity to reach the summit before the wind blew in the bad weather.
What I didn’t realize was that the mountain was playing tricks on us. As we crested the second false summit, I could tell my estimated time of arrive was way off. At the speed we were going we had another hour at least.
Undeterred, I picked out rocks a good distance ahead of us, setting that as our goal to reach before we took our next break. At each rock I encouraged Tim and Andrew, reminding them that they were doing a great job. Rock by rock we inched closer to the summit. Or the third false summit.
I was annoyed. I wanted to reach the top, be able to take pictures as a group, but I also wanted to take a break. My legs were burning almost as much as my lungs.
I was also sick of criss-crossing with other hikers. Passing them only to be re-passed. As we stood at the top of the third false summit, looking up at the real peak, I looked at Andrew and Tim and said “lets go!” I wanted this hike done.
The Summit
When I thought I couldn’t climb any higher, I was there. Summiting was a glorious experience. I reached the top of Colorado and quickly found shelter from the wind. Not long after, Tim set foot on the summit, with Andrew just behind. As the two topped off Colorado’s highest peak I jumped up from my spot tucked away from the wind to give them high fives. Both guys shouted with joy, which wasn’t very loud because it takes having air in your lungs to shout. Andrew was nearly in tears. He said this about his experience of summiting, “I felt like I was a zombie. My legs were moving mindlessly as if something were pulling me, compelling me to reach the summit.” I guess zombiemode is more than when someone becomes a brain eater.
I really enjoyed my own summit, but I felt true joy watching Andrew and Tim make it to the top of Mt. Elbert. I was filled with joy because Andrew had worked so hard to climb to the top. Hiking with friends should feel like that.
On our way down we talked about how hard the climb was. None of us liked the false summits or the wind, but we agreed that those hardships just made the actual summit that much sweeter. The whole hike was sweet, because it was hard and we achieved a difficult goal with friends.
Memorial Day is a day to say thank you to those who died serving our nation in the U.S. armed forces. My two grandpas, both pictured above, fought in World War II. My grandpa Chuck (on the left) served in the Army Air Corp and my grandpa Jim (on the right) was in the Army and served in the Pacific Theater. Neither of them died while fighting, but the sacrificed non-the-less.
My grandpa Jim died ten years ago. When he died I was too young to realize all that he gave up to protect my freedoms. I didn’t even know my grandpa Chuck, who died before I was born. I can’t go and tell them thank you for their sacrifice, which allows me to live freely in the United States. I am very grateful that I even got to meet my grandpa Jim. I know there are thousands of Americans who never got to meet their fathers, as they died while serving.
To all the men and women who died while serving my country, I thank you. I am blessed to live in the United States of America. I hope as we celebrate Memorial Day we remember who served us.
I’ve been doing yard work again. I don’t have much of a green thumb, more like a brown thumb. I tend to pull more weeds than plant bushes. Despite my lack of talent in the field of botany something really cool happened this last week.
To explain what happened I need to back up my story a little bit.
You’ve Got Mail! No, wait, it’s just junk.
For the last couple of years a nasty weed has been growing near the mailbox. Oh, you guys know what a mailbox is, you know the box at the end of your driveway that magically receives junk and the occasional birthday card from your grandma that always has the two dollar bill tucked inside.
Anyway, this “weed” never really looked like a weed. Last summer it bloomed a beautiful white flower, but it also took over wherever it grew. (It also made it hard to back out of our driveway) So I decided to transplant this “weed,” still thinking it was a normal plant, to a more advantageous location. But when I started to dig it up I realized the job wouldn’t be worth it. What I thought was one plant was five or six different weeds. This monster was growing crazy and choking out everything around it.
After talking to my dad, we decided to rip this weed out. We dug and dug, for about ten minutes, making no progress. Then my dad had a brilliant idea. “Why don’t we rip the roots out with my truck,” he said. “Heck yes!” I replied. Two hours later, after a lot of grunting and other man stuff, we’d pulled the monster out. The roots looked more like alien tentacles.
That’s the kind of weeding I like to do. Honestly I didn’t expect anything good to come from it. But then yesterday I went over to the mailbox for the first time in a couple weeks, really I only check my mail on my computer, and was shocked at what I saw. The bush, which had been growing resolutely between the monster weed, had always been deprived of its nutrients because of the weed. But now everything had changed. A perfect yellow rose had bloomed.
Because I took out the weed the rose bush is now blossoming amazingly!
It made me think about how God works in our lives. Sometimes he takes things away from us. Sometimes those things are bad like weeds. Sometimes those weeds even look good, but in fact they are choking out something that God wants to nurture in our lives.
So I have a question, what do you think God wants you to give up or get rid of so that you can experience an amazing blossom?
As we live spiritually we need to trust God. He has a plan for us, even if that means letting go of things we think we need. Let God help you produce roses, let him work in your life.
In honor of Mother’s Day I thought I’d tell you why my mom is better than your mom. Now I could easily name more than five reasons why she is the best, but I don’t want you to get all upset. I mean if I listed seven reasons why my mom is better than yours, you’d feel seven times worse about your mom.
I really can’t help it that my mom is the best. I mean she brought me into this world, toilet trained me, and even put her foot down and said no to me a couple of times. Mother knows best! But those are things every mom has done, or should do.
Here are the five reasons why my mom is better than your mom:
1. She Will Not Steal Even If It Is Free.
How many of you take those free sugar packets from Quicktrip or 7-11? Not my mom. One day, after my older sister, Katie, and my Grandma came back from the gas-station, they were talking about their free sugar packets. “You take extra packets too, Grandma,” said my sister. “All the time,” replied my Grandma. My mom, who was standing right next to the two thieves, cut in, “That’s stealing. Taking one is okay, but to take more is wrong.” For the next thirty minutes she let my sister and her mother-in-law have it. So much so, that they swore off gas-station sugar packets.
My mom has morals. That’s why when I went to print out a picture for her Mother’s Day gift at Wal-Mart I made sure to pay for it. The machine printed out my picture and never charged me. I could have just walked right out of the store, but I knew my mom would never accept a stolen gift. So I found the nearest employee and asked to pay for the picture. My mom has taught me well.
2. My Mom Would Jump.
The crystal clear lake lay forty feet below. One, two, three . . . jump! This was Guatemala 2009, Lago Atitlan to be exact. We were all standing at the edge of the lake urging each other to jump. I jumped, made a big splash. My dad said no (Chicken). Emmy, my little sister, jumped on her first try (She’s awesome).
My mom is not a chicken, nor is she just awesome. She is a mom who jumped off of the highest cliff on Lago Atitlan. When my dad wouldn’t do it, my mom faced the big drop and showed her family how cool she is. My mom jumped off of a 40 foot cliff into the lake. As beautiful as Lago Atitlan is, with it’s stunning blue waters and the three volcanoes dominating the view, I will always remember that lake for my mom’s death defying jump.
3. My Mom Kicked Me Out Of The House
Okay, she didn’t litterally kick me out of the house. Five years ago, I was working at a job I hated. This lame job scheduled me to work on Mother’s Day. Three months later I found my self living in Guatemala. And my mom had everything to do with my move. No, it wasn’t because I wasn’t able to celebrate her on Mother’s Day. She told me to go to Guatemala because she saw my passion for missions and wanted me to have a chance to serve.
My mom is better than all the other mom’s out there because she has faith. She knew that she had to let me go so that God could work in my life. I would never have lived in Guatemala if it wasn’t for her.
4. My Mom Teaches Kindergarten
I know, I know. You are thinking that Kindergarten is easy. Those kids take naps. But in reality teaching Kindergarten is more like this video.
My mom pours her life into those kids, which means they are lucky. She is a fantastic teacher, who works super hard to make sure all of her students are socialized, and know their A, B, C’s, and know not to stab one another with scissors, and how to read, and how to deal with bullies, and how to do calculous, and how to write responses to their favorite Dr Seuss book, and when is the right time to go potty and where is the right place, and how to have fun all while staying in the lines. My mom doesn’t back down from any challenge. She teaches Kindergarten.
5. My Mom Would Impersonate You
My mom is immensely tallented at doing voices. Not a day paces by without her coming home from work with a story (remember she teaches Kindergarten) and those stories are always accompanied by a creative impression of her student. She always keeps her impressions tasteful and never stops surprising me with her versatility. She can pass as an old man, little girl, British nanny, and even my dad. Sadly I don’t have any video of my mom impersonating anyone, but she’ll do a voice for you if you ask her.
You might not be able to see my mom impersonating you, but that shouldn’t stop you from impersonating her. You should love kids like she loves kids. You should love your family like she loves her family. You should love and follow God they way she loves and follows God.
My mom is better than your’s because she showed me how to love and be loved.
Everyone knows learning the difference between bor., boar, boor, and bore can be a complete bo . . . wait which one is it? Wait can you explain the Hawley-Smoot Teriff Act? Anyone, anyone?
You know you’ve been in this class. We’ve all struggled to stay awake as the professor drooned on and on, our eyes taped open in a futile attempt to remain conscious. Sadly, once I started teaching I realized it’s not just the student’s who struggle through boring classes.
As a teacher, a teacher who was teaching said boring class, even I struggled at times to stay awake.
During my first year of teaching, quite a few of my classes were boring. Can’t believe I just admitted that. The worst was my current events class. (I know a couple of students who would argue, not to say it was an exciting class, filled with the days most exciting news, but to say one of my other classes was worse.) I didn’t even enjoy listening to my students report on whatever big news story they’d found while scouring the web five minutes before class.
You know why it was boring? It bored me and my students to tears because I didn’t put much effort into it.
I was a new teacher, I didn’t know any better.
Teaching Takes Trying
That next semester I decided to try something different. If teaching something I found boring made for a boring class, then why not teach something I enjoyed. (I know not everyone has this ability, Math teachers have to teach Math) I chose outdoor education. I had grand plans for this class. I wanted to take my students on hikes. I wanted them to love hiking, like I love hiking.
But how can that be taught?
First I bought a book. Had them sit in a classroom. Gave them the information from the book. And then I ran into the same problem I’d had before, boredom.
I was teaching the class wrong. Not that there isn’t a time and place for books and the classroom, but I found out that if I was going to pass on a love for the outdoors I had to take the kids outside.
I showed them how to set up a tent. We identified the clouds. We even talked about going camping. The class improved, but it still wasn’t that good. We still weren’t hiking. And camping was a no go.
Three years later the kids who were in that class still complain that we never did any of the things I promised them we’d do. But what they don’t know is, inside the classroom I couldn’t show them my love for hiking.
A Good Teacher Tackle’s His Students
Teaching doesn’t always happen at school or inside the classroom. Most of the time teaching doesn’t even require books or tests.
Hands down my favorite class to teach was my middle school gym class because I loved the subject matter and most of the time I got to participate. The boys loved it for many reasons, but they especially enjoyed our unit on American football (remember I was in Guatemala) they got to tackle me. I loved it because they loved it, and I got to tackle them. (This would never work in the states, but playing football with your students is a great way to get out your frustration.)
We built connections by playing a game together. Anytime they tackled me I would congratulate them and they would ask my why I was crying. (I wasn’t) Playing football with the boys allowed me to be personal with them.
They learned by watching my actions and following my lead. Now, none of those boys will make it to the NFL, but all of them know more about football than any of their Guatemalan Neighbors.
They learned through experiencing.
Teaching isn’t about how boring or how exciting a class is. No, it’s about growing and changing.
I finally put that to practice with hiking. I knew that if the boys loved playing football when I played with them, they would love hiking if I took them.
A Good Teacher Takes A Hike
During my last year in Guatemala I took the majority of my students on hikes up La Muela, my favorite hike in Xela.
On our hikes up the dead volcano I would ask them what they wanted to do with their lives. I would challenge them to try harder in their classes. I spent most of the time on the hikes listening to what was going on in their lives. I think they needed to know someone cared for them. Kids need someone in their lives that let’s them know that they’re important. Parents can do that, but at a point in every teenager’s life they stop listening to their parents.
I also shared bits of my life story, they listened and let me know they cared. While hiking built healthy relationships.
I miss hiking with them more than almost anything in Xela. I know that they love the hike too, because, since I moved back to the states, they’ve continued to hike.
And sure enough, when I was in Guatemala last March I took a group of kids up La Muela. They wanted to go. They took me to places on the dead volcano I’d never been. As we stood at the summit, looking down on Xela, one of the boys, who’d grown up in Xela, right next to La Muela, looked at me and said, “I love hiking. I can see why you love Xela too.” Pleased, I felt like a success.
My teaching methods might not be conventional, but I believe the best way to pass on information, especially the type I am passionate about, is to form relationships and go hiking.
Where is the land of enchantment? No, it’s not New Mexico. You have to south of the boarder. Okay, a little farther south. That’s right, Guatemala is the real land of enchantment. Okay, maybe not all of Guatemala is that enchanting. But no other country, outside of the good’ol U.S.A., has my heart like Guatemala.
Do you heart Antigua?
So why do I love Guatemala? What follows is my top five reasons I love Guatemala and think it is a great travel destination and even more so an amazing place to live.
1. All of the gigantic volcanoes, whether they are erupting or just challenging me to hike or photograph, I love them.
El Fuego sits behind the volcano of Acatenango. I enjoyed watching it spout smoke from my safe rooftop in Antigua.Even on a clear day in Xela a cloud loves to hang around the massive Santa Maria.
2. The Colonial Cathedrals. I love old buildings and well, these ones have stood the test of time.
This Cathedral was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake.Some lucky couple was getting married the night I took this picture.Nun's who couldn't live in the real world would use the archway to pass over the street. Or so I was told.
3. The Amazing Coffee. Err, I mean how everyone loves Guatemalan Coffee. (Everyone but me)
Before it's picked, dried, and roasted, it's sweet.I know coffee lovers love these.Coffee being processed forCafé Tranquilidad
4. The craftsmanship, be it food or a hand-knit blanket, Guatemalans can make some beautiful goods. Cuidado! Be careful where you eat, ’cause you want to take the beautiful hand-made scarf home with you, not amoebas.
Found these at the store. I'd never had them before. Jury is still out.I love those colors!The Market in Antigua.
5. Most of all Guatemalan’s have passion, which makes me love them right back. If you travel to Guatemala you will find that the rich and the poor, both have huge hearts. Their genuine way of life makes them extremely beautiful.
The Chivos Fans Love Their team!They Love Each Other.Can't you tell she's got a big heart?Will it stand?Love's in her eyes.They love being noobs!Me and my spanish teacher.
I hope someday that everyone will be able to travel down to Guatemala and come up with their own list for why they love Guatemala. It is an adventure, but be careful you just might be enchanted!
Even though we are all masterpieces created by God, we’re broken. I don’t think anyone can claim that they have the perfect life or that they’ve lived perfectly. I think the majority of us would find that we have more in common with Aron Ralston than Jesus.
On retreat down in Reu, Guatemala, after I gave my message on being broken, several students came up to me and asked to talk. So we walked around under a grove a palm trees in the sweltering heat and talked. They, like me, had made mistakes in their past. They, like me, had felt stuck because of what they’d done and wished they could erase their mistakes.
Jesus doesn’t erase our mistakes. He won’t make your life perfect. And we shouldn’t want him too.
As my students told me what had gone wrong in their lives, I felt God nudging me to tell them about Aron Ralston. Now, if that name sounds familiar to you it’s because you just read my blog from my 27th birthday about being stuck in Guatemala and how God used that to get me to where he wanted me. Or you saw the movie 127 Hours. But then maybe, you read Aron Ralston’s book, 127 Hours: Between A Rock And A Hard Place.
Aron, an avid outdoorsman, found himself trapped by a freak climbing accident. He’d survived being trapped in an avalanche and stalked by a bear, but when a large boulder dislodged itself and pinned Aron’s arm to the side of Blue John Canyon in Utah, Aron’s life had to change. After nearly six days of being trapped, Aron cut his arm off to free himself.
If anyone has reason to wish he could go back and have a past mistake taken away, it’s Aron. He describes in the book how he had the opportunity to take another route through the canyon, which would have kept him in contact with people, but he chose to remain alone. His choice led to the loss of his arm. That is why I believe more of us relate to Aron than Jesus.
The Bible says that we all have messed up and fallen short of what it takes to make it into heaven. We’ve all gotten our arms stuck between a rock and the canyon wall, with no real hope of living life the way it was before we were trapped. I could tell, as I looked into my student’s eyes, that they felt this desire.
But then I shared with them the rest of Aron’s story.
After he’d cut his arm free and recovered in the hospital he wrote, “For all that has happened and the opportunities still developing in my life, I feel blessed. I was part of a miracle that has touched a great number of people in the world and I wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even to have my hand back. My accident in the rescue from Blue John Canyon were the most beautiful spiritual experiences of my life, knowing that, were I to travel back in time, I would still say, ‘see you later’ to Megan and Kristi and take off into the lower slot by myself,” (Ralston, pg 342). Because Aron cut his arm off so that he could live, he inspired other people to fight to live.
Aron understands that God uses our pasts to help others. He gave Aron a greater story, one not just about hiking and extreme sports, but about what it means to live and be connected to God’s greater story.
This is Redemption. Aron is still missing his arm, it hasn’t grown back and he still has the painful memory of the time inside the canyon.
Our mistakes may seem simple when we place them next to Aron’s. But that doesn’t mean they don’t matter to God. I was truly saddened as my students told me what had happened in their lives over the last year. But, if we let God, He will redeem or pasts, He wont make our lives perfect, but He will take what happened and use it to connect us to His greater purpose.
Redemption uses our imperfections.
Now, if you have been following my blog, you know that I have been talking about King David. After committing adultery and then murdering to try to cover up his mistake, he realized he needed to ask God to renew him and purify his heart. Because David opened his heart back up to God and asked Him to redeem his life, David’s story doesn’t end with his mistake. David’s story becomes part of God’s greater story, the story of Jesus.
If you look at Jesus’s family tree, its roots lead back to David and his mistake. God doesn’t sweep away our past, but he does use it, if we let him, to make something beautiful.
Jesus didn’t come to bring us peace or to make our lives perfect. He came and died on the cross to pay for our mistakes. And then he rose from the dead to mess up our lives. The truth of the matter, that Jesus is alive, forces us to live differently. It connects us to his story, and when we are part of his story our lives start to change. We start to have a greater purpose.
As I sat there talking with my students, my hope was that they would start to let Jesus redeem their mistakes. That they would realize the power for the resurrection, its ability to give them a new story. A story with imperfections, with pain, and with hard times, but one that is far more adventurous than anything they could’ve tried to live before.
As we finished retreat and I said goodbye to some of my favorite people in the entire world, I hoped that God would connect them to a their true adventure. Like in Hugo, where at the end of the movie, each character finds their purpose because they have let their past be redeemed and have been connected to something greater than themselves. I know once we all start living in the reality of the resurrection our lives will truly become an adventure.
Adventure With Brendan 
