The mountains are calling & I must go - Kelley Barton

In 1873 John Muir wrote to his sister the often-quoted phrase

“The mountains are calling & I must go.”

I have been in the Eastern Sierra’s the past few weeks, getting some time in Nature, with family & friends, but also doing some of the preparation for CCLB’s Kids Camp next week.

The theme this year is Compassion Camp – where every living thing Needs. The kids will be exploring what it means to have compassion for themselves, others and the world.

Each day will have a different emphasis:

Shelter Protects Life

Food Energizes Life

Water Hydrates Life

Air Sustains Life

Community Produces Life

One of the concepts we will use at Camp is Nature, inspired by Psalm 104. Animals, plants and, of course humans, all need these elements to survive and thrive.

“You make springs flow in the valleys, and rivers run between the hills. They provide water for the wild animals; there the wild donkeys quench their thirst. In the trees near by, the birds make their nests and sing.”

Psalm 104:10-12 (GNT)

“Lord, you have made so many things! How wisely you made them all! The earth is filled with your creatures. There is the ocean, large and wide, where countless creatures live, large and small alike.”
Psalm 104:24-25 (GNT)

I experienced so many parts of the nature God created, and sustains, while spend time in the mountains. Over several days, on different hikes, I spotted wildlife, came across a fallen tree that looked like a heart, and stood overlooking a partially frozen lake with majestic snowcapped mountains framing it.

As I stood next to friends and drank in the beauty, complexity and wonder of what my eyes were seeing, it caused a deep rejuvenation in my heart. I felt so alive, so in awe, so inspired. It energized me. I needed those feelings and was actually quite surprised by them.

I later realized I was seeing His hand in how He provides Shelter, Food, Water, Air and Community. Those feelings were the complete opposite of how the news and my social media feed had been making me feel earlier, before setting out for our hikes. Discouragement, helplessness, straining to trust God to get us all through and disappointed about how long it might take. Those were the thoughts floating through my brain, and affecting my heart, before we hit the trail.

Next week we will try to weave a connection between how God provides for Nature and for us humans, on the kids entrusted to us for Kids Camps. We hope to instill in them a feeling of awe and compassion, for the creatures in the world and our fellow humans, that flows from how God not only shows compassion to us, but how He created such beauty that somehow can let us know we matter.

For those of you reading my words, I want you to feel the connection I felt. For you to find moments that will rejuvenate your heart in this specific way.  

Can you make a plan to get away and absorb a bit of nature? It might be a place close by that you forgot about. A garden, bird sanctuary, or the beach. Perhaps you can get out of town for a bit, to find the spot where God can speak to you through His designs.

Listen and see if you can hear what is calling you, as John Muir did. And then go!