We Finally Made It to Mt. Rainier...And We Didn't Stop There!

Having lived in Washington for over a year now and having admired Mt. Rainier from a distance the entire time, we've been longing to get there. Well, we finally made it to the mountain—or at least really close to it! Jill’s parents came into town last week, and we took a day trip to a place called "Paradise" in the Mt. Rainier National Park.

Despite the favorable forecast, we drove in thick clouded weather almost the whole way to the mountain. Feeling a little discouraged, we prayed that God would graciously provide somehow for us to be able to see the mountain. As we continued driving and ascending the mountain, we began passing through the cloud cover and eventually transcended it completely. From that point on, we had nearly perfect visibility of the mountain!

The hours we spent up there were truly inspiring for all of us. As we hiked around, we enjoyed the beautiful snow covered mountain from all different vantage points. And as we looked on in wonder, we were moved to heartfelt worship. We reckoned Mt. Rainier to be an awesome illustration of God’s own awe-inspiring attributes. Several Scriptures come to mind:

As we gazed upon the massive rock, we were reminded of the infinite strength of our God.

• Psalm 65:5-6 "By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea; Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;"

As we admired its height towering 14,400 ft. in the air, we were reminded of the infinitely transcendent faithfulness and righteousness of our God.

• Psalm 36:5-6 "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains;"

And as we walked around admiring the mass and stability of the mountain--feeling at times surrounded by the mountain because of its enormity--we were reminded of God’s ever-present help and our security in His care.

• Psalm 121:1-2 "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."

Well, last week we took a trip to Mt. Rainier, but we didn’t stop there. We found that our journey actually took us beyond the mountain into the wonders of God Himself. The beauty of the creation pointed us so clearly to the Creator. For that we are exceedingly grateful! Thank you, Lord! We’ll look forward to more awe-inspiring trips to Mt. Rainier in the future. We'd love for you to come join us some time!

In Awe of Him,

Jeff, Jill, and Juliana