I really don't enjoy nature all that much. but DAM...!

My daughters grew up hiking and wading at Wiscoy Falls. We slid down water shutes on old pizza boxes. They launched themselves from rocky perches into frigid water holes. Their first experience with leeches was learned there. Sydney's senior pictures were captured in front of one of its many breathtaking cascades. We LOVE Wiscoy Falls but I had resigned myself over the last few years to observation rather than participation. While my family can nimbly scramble up the loose, sliding slopes of shale, I very clearly picture a twisted ankle, broken hip, or even worse, my damaged ego. 

Sunday is Fritter Day and, more often than not, Brad and I will enjoy our sweet treat and coffee at the bridge over-looking Wiscoy Falls. It was a beautiful September Sunday. The leaves were just beginning to blush with color. Sweatshirt weather. Saturday night's frost kept Sunday morning bugs at bay. Gentle sun. Perfect. "Can we walk up a little way?" I asked my surprised husband. Trees provided perfect handrails as I ascended to the first falls. Water bugs skated across the surface of side streams. Minnows congregated in hidden holes. And still I climbed...resigned that I would inevitably return with dirt under my fingernails and muddy jeans. Memories of our daughters lurked in the hidden shadows of each place we paused. I found a painted rock resembling a snail and in a rare moment of restraint, left it there because it looked so natural. 

Without knowing it, somewhere along the way, a goal had been determined for me. A finish line that, as I continued my careful journey upward, I became more and more eager to see. Hidden from the road...a secret only shared by those who know and love Wiscoy...the great wall. The dam. Brad and I made the last ascent and he smiled as I limbo-ed under yet another low-hanging branch. "How do you plan to get down?" he asked, laughing. "Gravity," I grinned back, striding up to that structure that holds back a river of water. I reached the wall and felt my own crumble...swept up in emotion. So grateful for this day. For my husband. My daughters. My dogs. Friends. Family. Jobs. Health. My country. My tears spilled over as I realized I'd somehow found myself back in church...finally. Thank you, God.