Mill Creek Hike

This past week's Wednesday hike was about 2 miles up Mill Creek Canyon before rain turned us back. We had planned hiking another mile up the canyon to a waterfalls. The dark clouds overhead were quite ominous as the raindrops began falling. We heard some thunder and felt the drenching of our pants as we pushed through the vegetation on either side of the trail. Thimbleberry, Wild rose & Buckbrush plants were thick along the path. A large forest fire raged through this area in 2000 leaving the soil fertile for the brush and smaller plants we saw blooming everywhere. However, it removed much of the tree canopy that would have shielded us from the sun or rain. Enormous rock cliffs rising on our right side spurred on our conversation about God often comparing Himself to "Tsur" - bedrock. This coming week I will be the teacher for the 6th graders at our Vacation Bible School. Our first day's memory verse is Isaiah 26:4. "Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is your everlasting strength." In the original Hebrew this is a very emphatic verse since it doubles 3 main concepts. The idea of God as our "refuge", (found in "batach/trust or hide for refuge" & "tsur/cliff rock or refuge"but translated as "strength"), is the first concept. The second repeated idea of "ad/forever" & "olam/ just beyond the horizon, everlasting" speaks of our security in Him over time & beyond time. Lastly, God's personal name is repeated three times in this short verse. One of those times His name is abbreviated as "Yah" rather than the full "Yahweh/Jehovah" form. You can't miss that our triune God is the only source of secure refuge & strength over time & into eternity.