It was time to go home.
I was sad to be leaving a place that had given me SO much in just six days, but I was eager to get home, see my friends and family, and report on the week's adventures. As I walked outside, this is the view that I was greeted with:
Extraordinary, huh?
I made my way down to the administration building, where I planned to spend the morning taking in this view, having a little caffeine, and awaiting the shuttle that would take me to the Denver airport. In a delightful turn of events, just about everyone that I had become friends with in the course of the week was hanging out at the admin building as well, so we all had a good chance to spend our last hours together, take some pics together, and say our good-byes.
All went well on the shuttle ride back to the airport, and I made yet another new friend during the trip. We chatted the whole way, and it made the time go by quickly. So many nice people.
While in the air, this is the beauty that I beheld outside my window:
Awesome.
And while descending into Austin, this is the sight that welcomed me home:
I wasn't sure how much more beauty my heart could take. Every now and then, I have those moments in my life where my heart is so full of thanksgiving, that I feel I will never be able to fully express it. This was one of those moments. At these times, I generally conclude that the best way to express my gratitude is to live my life as God would want me to - to boldly live out my faith, to passionately love people, and to relentlessly try to do better. My mind turned to one of my favorite songs by the late singer Keith Green:
Make my life a prayer to you,
I want to do what You want me to,
No empty words and no white lies,
No token prayers, no compromise.
Lord, may it be so!
1 comment:
I came across your posting while on the Beth Moore blog. What was so amazing was that we were in Estes Park on vacation (this was the morning of August 14, our last day there) and I start yelling, "Sandi Patty was here last week!!!" See, we are huge Sandi Patty fans and I'm so glad she's having doors opened again on the Christian circuit. This was our first time to Estes Park, I was there with my hubby, 17 yr old daughter and 21 yr old son. We had a glorious time, thoroughly enjoyed God's creation, hiked every day and rafted one day. I have a friend who used to be a vocal performer who would come to the GMA festival every summer and she would compete. She has made a couple of CDs, anyway, you remind me a lot of her. I read thru your whole blog, you're a gifted writer and I wish you God's best. I visited Austin in April of this year and loved your city. Nothing like a typical Texas city, I don't think I heard a Texas drawl once! I shopped at that very upscale new shopping center in North Austin, not because I can afford to but I have been waiting to find a city that has a Tiffany's since my sister in law bought my daughter a key chain at Tiffany's in Charlotte, NC to celebrate her passing her driver's test and Tulsa, OK doesn't have one...but we finally have a Cheesecake Factory and it's opening this Thursday! I was tickled with your posting about being so excited that you couldn't sleep because that is how I felt about our trip to Estes Park. I have been so exhausted at work and I was so looking forward to taking in God's beautiful world, that is my eye candy. Also, my daughter attended swim camp at Texas A & M and for a couple of years she hoped she would go to school there. She is clueless about higher ed now but I know it will all become more clear to her as she continues to look at schools. My son is the computer nerd, will graduate from college this Dec. with a degree in Computer Science. He already has a great job as a Software Engineer. I have bookmarked your blog, I love your writing style. I think you'll have many other people reading your stuff and I'll be able to say, "I read her before she was famous!"
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