Where you are Nearest to God!

Early yesterday morning, my friend Libby, her son Warren and I left for a sight seeing trip to the mountains! We were hoping the leaves had turned, and we were delighted to find out they were, and simply breathtakingly beautiful! We went somewhere near Hendersonville and took the Blue Ridge parkway! I’m telling you, I hardly spoke for miles because I was so carried away! I told Warren he had finally found a way to keep me quite!
On the way we passed a farm that raises Buffalo. Boy! Those are some big animals! Bunches of them!  Then we saw some wild Turkeys coming out of the woods! Then some cows that had real long horns! Do you call them cows or what?????  I MUST get out more!  I felt like a kid!
Then when we started over that parkway. Mercy,  I turned my head from side to side so much, I was afraid I would have to get out the hard stuff (the loud smelling liniment). We stopped at so many lookouts and at one of them (I mean we were nearly as high as Mt Mitchell). Warren wanted to take a picture of me and Libby sitting on the safety fence, I guess you would call it! About three feet behind it,  was a complete drop to I don’t know where. My knees were shaking but I managed to sit there (just long enough for the picture) then I sprang up from there lickety-split. I hope you can’t see the panic on my face in that photo!
There is just no way possible to capture the beauty that you find there this time of year. Warren has camped out up that way and he sure knew his way around. We dropped by a place called Little Switzerland that was very interesting! You should go there and check it out!
Then we found ourselves at a place called Craggy Gardens! A beautiful place in the fall! I would love to see it when the Rhododendrons are in bloom! They are everywhere! Beautiful setting with concrete picnic tables and benches scattered around over  the  hills, walking trails, restrooms, bins to dispose of your trash! It’s just a nice, family oriented place, BUT I got the scare of my life! Libby and I had gone to the rest room, when we came out I struck up a conversation with a young woman that was under a tree picking up little bits of  lichen that had fallen under the tree! She told me she made little fairy houses and used all sorts of natural materials! Just then her husband came by leading the most beautiful German Shepherd dog! As he got it in the back of their van, I said “Don’t close the van, we want to see your dog!” I ran over there (or maybe the right words are I walked fast over there) and just as I was talking to him, his wife said “Oh!  She fell! She fell!” I turned  around and there was Libby! I nearly died from fright! She had got so excited about seeing that dog, she forgot about the step-off to the road! Warren came flying out of the rest room and saw her fall as we did! We got her patched up and she was alright except for her knee and scrapes on her upper arms and a skinned hip! No broken bones!
The man with the dog told me “She’s tough,you can tell!  She’ll be alright!” I told him she was a walking miracle, that two years ago Hospice was coming in. We all (including the Doctor ) thought she was dying, but God had other plans for her life! Warren had come to stay with her and help her through everything but she just started getting better and stronger!  Now she takes one day at a time and trusts God that when it is her time to go home, He will be there all the way for her!
As we finished our trip, we were just praising  God in our hearts that Libby was O.K. and for all the wonderful things He had given us to enjoy! We get so frustrated in our everyday life that we even FORGET to thank God that HE has first given us life, second that HE is there for all of us, if we but call on Him.  As we were looking at all those reds, yellows, oranges, browns,  and green leaves, I said “You know what I believe? We are nearer Gods heart in a garden but I believe we are nearer God’s heart THIS day in all this beauty He has created! All these awesome colors that blend so perfectly!” I constantly was saying “Oh!  My Goodness”, “OOOOOH!  Look at that!!!”, “OH!  MY LORD!!!” all day.
My heart feels so full and at peace to day! Knowing that the God who created you AND me and so splendidly created this beautiful world for us to enjoy, is still GOD enough to get rid of all the ugliness that seems to be trying to take over.   GOD is still GOD and we have to keep trusting Him! HE’S STILL WORKING ON US! HE’S NOT GOING TO EVER GIVE UP ON US!  Don’t give up on Him!!! Plan on getting away from it all and go to the mountains !  Take the Blue Ridge Parkway and take in all that beauty! Forget everything at home! I’ll guarantee you will feel closer to God! I did! He is an awesome God!