Hiking has become one of my top all-time favorite pass times. Living smack in the middle of Midwest America there are very few challenging trails to embrace. The circumstance of our geographical surroundings leads me to plan as many vacations as I can around this love to hike and explore. It has to be balanced with what the children and my husband enjoy as well. My definition of fun is often very few others definition.
There is something about the anticipation of what will be around the next bend of the trail. The thrill of reaching the goal of the destination set to reach. God’s creation is photogenic as where ever one looks there is such beautiful artwork. There is pain that comes with these hikes. As I age the pains are becoming more plentiful, but that seems to add to the joy of reaching the final destination. Despite the pain in my right knee, despite the pain in my left hip, despite falling, despite pain in my lower back, and despite the fact that my feet now have their own heart beat I am here!!! The climb, the battle, the pain is all worth the views and discoveries.

There has been a particular hike in the Smokey Mountains that I have had my sights on for four years now. This past vacation there was time allotted for my husband and I to set out on this adventure I had been patiently waiting for. It was well worth the wait, the anticipation, and the four mile one way up a mountain trudge. The path followed closely alongside a bubbling mountain stream with the ultimate destination set for a beautiful one hundred foot waterfall. The entire trek was lined with moss and ferns growing in and out of everything. The beloved ecosystem literally houses hundreds of different species of plant life. There were trees that had to of been hundreds of years old along the trail. As we continued to place one foot in front of the other I kept thinking of Living water mentioned in scripture. Life thrives by this beautiful stream as it gives nourishment and the much needed water for these plants to survive.

Life with Jesus and receiving the “living water” He teaches of and gives believers is what spiritual life, health, and growth requires. You see in a life with Jesus as our guide there is always anticipation of what will be around the next bend. There is anticipation of our final destination of His glory for eternity. Along the strenuous path there will be pain, struggles, and falls. Through the struggles there will be strength, endurance, and a beauty that will prevail as one continues to focus on Jesus and His purpose and plan.
John 7:38 “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”