Tareva - Week 10

We are supposed to blog about an experience we've had with a natural setting. Truth be told, I rarely take personal journeys through nature and the wilderness. Besides being a lover of the INdoors, I am deathly allergic to just about everything outside. I literally go into heavy sneezing fits everytime I step out of my apartment. So, trips through nature are rare for me. Don't get me wrong, I am indeed a lover of nature and the wonders of the wilderness, but my allergies prohibit me from participating in events that require me to venture through the woods.

In accordance with this blogs topic however, I have decided to share my experiences of climbing Old Rag Mountain. This is something that I haven't done for years but it is one of the few times I've encountered/explored a natural setting. When I was in middle school and high school my church youth group used to make annual trips to hike Old Rag. When it was first announced that climbing a mountain was to be our youth groups new annual trip I was NOT excited at all. Aside from my allergies playing a major role in me not wanting to participate, I enjoy being clean way too much to want to climb a mountain. Ever since I was little I was the girl who freaked out about bugs and dirt. I liked having my nails freshly painted and the scent of some kind of perfume usually wafted behind me like a cloud on a regular basis. Needless to say, climbing mountains was not something I ever saw myself doing - until I did it. The first time I climbed I had no idea what I was in for. I remember thinking, "I'm exhausted!" within the first hour of the climb. Not a good start. But low and behold, I made it to the top and was so happy that I did. We would take little breaks during our climb to just sit around and sing hymns or fellowship together. It was the Old Rag trips that I believe truly brought our youth group together. When we would summit the mountain we'd all share in communion and prayer. Being on top of a mountain and sharing in a ritual that is designated for us to remember what Christ has done for us was such a moving experience. I felt God's presence with us right there at the summit of Old Rag. I also believe that physically being closer to the heavens had a lot to do with how powerful the experiences were for me. It was almost as if I was that much closer to being able to literally reach out and touch the sky.