The Coleman Glacier below Mt. Baker from Heliotrope Divide, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
One day, God said to me, “Anne, do you know how much you were healed on that trip?”
The “trip” (vacation) He was referring to was one where we spent a glorious week hiking the trails around the Mt. Baker Highway. We feasted our eyes the volcanic Mt. Baker, the glaciated Mt. Shucksan, and much of the Canadian Cascades from trails like Ptarmigan Ridge, Skyline Divide, Artist Ridge, Heliotrope Divide, Canyon Ridge, and much more.
Mt. Shuksan from the Ptarmigan Ridge Trail. Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
For whatever reason, the area around the Mt. Baker Highway has held a very peaceful atmosphere for us. When we go there, we’re blessed – not just with nice scenery, but with the Prince of Peace always so tangibly present.
Hiking back down Canyon Ridge, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington
So it wasn’t a surprise to me that God had moved in me during that week hiking among wildflowers, jumping across glacier- and snowfield-fed streams, and tiptoeing down sometimes razor-edged ridgelines.
Skyline Divide and the Canadian Cascades
But my answer to His question of healing was a definite “no”. I could not possibly know everything that God had healed in me during that time. I knew that He was with us, so present that we felt His presence, but I did not know all that He had done.
Mt. Shuksan from Table Mountain
Sometimes we go to the wilderness knowing that we need healing. There have been times I’ve walked out into God’s creation, crying out with all my heart, “God, heal me of this wound” or “Show me Your desires” or simply “God, please, reveal Yourself to me.” But other times, it’s more subtle. We may not even be looking for the change that comes – because God, in that atmosphere, chooses to heal things we might not even be aware of.
Blooming heather near the Artist Ridge Trail
It’s an overflow of Himself – when we are in His presence, the overflow of Who He is heals us. Our response is only to seek His face (Psalm 27:8) and to be in awe of the God Who loves His creations.
