Today I did something a little out of the ordinary for a Friday morning — I went to Stone Mountain and took a leisurely hike up the mountain trail.
Leisurely is code for I had to stop a couple of times because it was pretty steep at the end and I kinda appreciate staying alive.
Anyway, thoroughly delightful. I wandered around and took pictures while catching my breath and continuing up up up.
As far as hikes go, it’s pretty short … about a mile. But the terrain is uneven, and rocky, and there are places where it’s sandy and slippery, and others where water is running down, so for a middle-aged out of shape broad, that mile was a hike. Of course, it’s a lot faster coming down.
The morning was fairly cool and there was quite a breeze blowing, especially at the top. In fact, I couldn’t have asked for a lovelier day for my little excursion. It gave me a lot of time to think, when I was inclined to think, but mostly, I let my mind go blank and just be. Kind of nice not to think about anything at all.
Of course, that just usually leads to more thinking, and I noticed a couple of things. I went with the intent of photographing the Stone Mountain Daisies, which are still blooming even though it’s a little late already. As it happens, there were plenty, overgrown, even, but my favorites are the ones that just kind of sprout out of nowhere.
As I would crouch down to get close for a couple of the shots, I realized that they were facing the morning sun, straining, almost yearning for the light. I looked carefully at the next batch, and sure enough, they were facing the sun. It’s hard not to see the obvious there, right? We can learn much from the natural world, and those pretty little daisies, simple, sweet, and so cheerful and carefree (indulge my personification) taught me a lovely little lesson.
“Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.”(Matthew 6:28-29)
The pretty little daisies were showing me the way — to look up, brightly, into the Son.
Lovely!