On Monday I headed to Estes Park, Colorado for an annual worship leader retreat, which is where I'm writing from now - at like 7500+ feet up here in the Rocky Mountains. I am continually thankful that God has made it possible for me to get here these last few years, a miracle within itself. I treasure these times when God meets me here on this mountain...even though it usually involves a whole box of Kleenex!

This year, the weather is especially beautiful, and (as always) the fellowship is grand, the teaching is powerful, the free time is refreshing, the scenery is captivating, and the times of worship and ministry together always leave me teary-eyed at the goodness of God.

Even getting here was an adventure within itself. I didn't hear my alarm and woke up when I supposed to be leaving for the airport, and was almost certain I would miss my flight. I even called the airline on the way to see if there was a flight after mine I could take as a back-up plan.

Unbelievably, I made it to the airport in record time, but had only 5 minutes to the "luggage deadline" and was certain they wouldn't let me check it in. Amazingly, I stepped right up to the counter and they took my bag.

Then, I was certain that security would take forever (as it often does at Atlanta airport), but as I stepped through the line, one of the security personnel pointed right at me and said, "Go that way, the line is shorter," and I walked right up to one of the x-ray machines. Another record-time event.

So, I get through security and board the train to the concourse, afraid that I'll have to walk a mile to the gate, and may need to run for it. As I top the escalator, I see that my gate is the first gate on the left. That never happens!

I had gotten up so late that I hadn't had a chance to eat breakfast, and by then it was almost noon. They had just started the boarding process with Zone 1. I looked at my ticket and saw that I was Zone 3. I was flying AirTran and knew all they would offer on the nearly three hour flight is pretzels...so I thought I'd dash to find some food if I could find some quick enough (right at the noon hour, gasp!).

I checked one restaurant, and sure enough, the line was a mile long. Then, just a few steps away there was a deli with no line at all. I grabbed a sandwich, boarded the plane, and breathed a huge sigh of relief!

Feeling like it couldn't get any better than that, I walked back to my seat...and ended up with a whole row to myself where I could spread out, eat lunch, read, write, and have some quiet time to myself (anyone who flies a lot knows this is one of the sweetest gifts to receive sometimes)! I found my smile getting bigger and bigger at each little "kiss from the Lord" I received along the way.

Now the reason all these little things made such an impact on me was that normally travel days for me are my least favorite part of the whole grand adventure of life. I find airports and traffic and bad food and all that incredibly stressful and not fun most days. This was one of the first times for as long as I can remember that a travel day was actually a positive experience for me. It was as though I could feel that "somebody up there's watching out for me," or "somebody's shining down on me today." I found myself asking God to make more of my travel days like this one.

As we took off and started our ascent, I snapped a picture of the Atlanta skyline, though it wasn't all that pretty on that gray, overcast morning.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p233/sherilyncarr/2009/P1010003.jpg

Before too long all I could see from my window was white as we went through the cloud layer. All of a sudden the clouds broke...and it was blue sky and sunshine as far as the eye could see!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p233/sherilyncarr/2009/P1010005.jpg

And something struck me in that moment. It's so simple, and yet spoke so profoundly to me:

The sun is ALWAYS shining! Even when we don't see it, whether it's hiding behind a thick layer or clouds, or whether it's night and the earth has turned us away from it - it is ALWAYS shining...and so it is with God.

God is ALWAYS there, ALWAYS "shining" on us, even when circumstances cloud our view, or when the darkness of night seems like it might last forever.

A "sun break" (as we called it when I lived in Seattle) is right around the corner. You know - when the clouds finally part and you want to run outside just to feel the sun shine on your face, even for a moment.

Just the same, night doesn't last forever. God's mercies are new every morning, and we can count on the fact that the world keeps turning and the sun WILL shine on us again.

Lord, help us all to remember in the cloudy, hazy days of life that You shine on, and even through the darkest nights, You shine. When our eyes cannot see you or we don't feel your warmth on our face (or don't get a row to ourselves on the plane), remind us that You never slumber, nor sleep, and that You are ALWAYS there, ALWAYS shining, ALWAYS loving, ALWAYS watching, ALWAYS listening, ALWAYS protecting, ALWAYS providing, ALWAYS reaching out to us...ALWAYS.