Elasticity

I am leaving this Sunday afternoon to hike in the nearby Eagle Cap Wilderness with Bob Carter.  The mornings and evenings now have an autumn tingle with lows in the forties. These are the temperatures at 2700 feet; we will be camping at 6700 feet. I find I no longer look forward to the "vigor" of cold mornings.  I would just as soon be instantly comfortable when I wake up.  

Yet I realize that I need this discomfort to keep my mind/body from contracting and getting smaller; to challenge it with what is new.  Similarly, I need the continual stretching that Bible passages and my relationship with God and Christ give me as I interact with others. My life is static and dull without the journey into the ever renewing newness of His mystery and joy.

Third Beach, La Push (click this one to enlarge the text)

Mt Harris, Grande Ronde Valley OR