Moment

Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colours).

I felt most alive this year on a walk in the Lake District enjoying God’s magnificent creation!

In February I took a holiday in England to visit my boyfriend (who would become my husband 6 months later!). The weather we experienced while I was in Carlisle was absolutely brilliant, and we only had 2 rainy days the entire week I was there.

On one such brilliant, sunny day, Leon took me walking down in the Lake District.

The Lake District, for those who aren’t familiar with England (or at least northwest England) is a beautiful national park with mountains and lakes–a must-see if you ever travel to this part of the world!

Our day started with a brisk 2 or 3º C and the sun was out to warm our backs along the way. Most of our plan was to walk up the mountain High Spy, along the ridge of Maiden Moor, and then back down around the lake Derwentwater into the quaint town of Keswick. As we hiked up our first hill, I began to get an idea of how beautiful this creation of God’s really is. Plus, I got to enjoy a lovely walk and conversation with my best friend! What could be better than that?

Along the way, there were still a few spots that had snow covering them, mostly because the sun didn’t ever hit those spots. We discovered an abandoned slate mine. I must confess I went a little camera crazy here because the textures the slate made on the ground were fascinating to me. The way the light reflected off the slate made the texture stand out. 

The walk was a bit of a struggle for me, as I wasn’t used to walking so much, let alone up a mountain.  We walked up to the ridge. The view from the top of High Spy was simply breathtaking! It was as if God was saying, “You made it to the top, and this is your reward!” The day was clear enough to see all around. You could see a tarn, the blue sky and a little farther along the way, the deep blues of Derwentwater came into view. The mountains’ contrast of reds and greens made the view that much more picturesque. A camera really could not capture the beauty of that view. I don’t know that I have ever seen anything more beautiful in my life!

Exhausted, we finally walked into Keswick, where we would wait for the coach to take us back to Carlisle. Even though I was exhausted, sore and hungry, I felt alive. I just walked a mountain! I just experienced God’s creation in a way I’ve never experienced before.

I would say that this walk through the Lake District with Leon was the moment I felt most alive this year. I was outdoors enjoying God’s creation. I accomplished walking up and back down a mountain. I was challenged to press on to the top rather than turn and go back. Quality time was spent with my best friend.

I‘m taking part in a blog writing challenge the month of December called #reverb10. Each day participants are given a prompt to blog about. It can be anything from a blog post such as this to photography. Wanting a little variety in my blogging and having never done a blog challenge before, I thought I was up for the challenge. Please continue to follow my blog as I “reflect on the year and manifest what is next!”