The Fairy Pools

The glen where the fairy pools cut their way down the mountain was also full of magic.

We walked down they very steep hill, then up the other side, hopping over small streams as we went. The pools are numerous and quite large, and are situated like a staircase, each one lower than the other forming lovely waterfalls. There were so many of them that I had most of them all to myself for several minutes as we walked down the path beside them.

The water is turquoise, yet blue like the Mediterranean, which I have seen with my own eyes. Although I have never seen colors quite like these. The temperature of the water wasn't as cold as I thought it would be, but I still did not jump in, unlike some of the other hikers who were braver than me.

After perusing the lower pools for a while and admiring their jeweled tones, I continued up the path and past the pools on my own. The mountains before me were so majestic they took my breath away. I couldn't do anything for a while but sit on a boulder and stare at them. One in particular reminded me of Mount Sanai, the mountain where God made His home and spoke to Moses.

I looked up at its peak, the sun shining on the very tip, and felt inexplicably drawn to it. I wanted to remove my shoes and climb to the top, because I knew that's where God is. My heart wanted to so badly to identify with Moses and see what he saw and hear what he heard: "Remove your sandals, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."

What is it about a mountain that draws us to it? Is it the removal from the world we feel when we reach the top? Or just the sheer display of majesty?

Today as if I felt as if I was on the edge of the world, looking up at an immovable monument of God's hand that He could move if He chose to. It seemed that if I could just reach the top, I could touch where the sun had lain and felt the searing heat on my tender hand. The burn would be worth it, for I could have seen God there.

I stood in its shadow for a long time and talked to the One I love most. I thanked Him for His character, His mercy, His provision, and for the watchful eye He keeps on me. There is nothing better than standing beneath mountains in the silence of the wilderness and looking up to God on His mountain throne.

I felt helpless but more alive than I've felt in a long, long time.

My passion is for young people to travel as I have, to seek God out in other cultures, to grow closer to Jesus Christ through finding out what He is doing all over the world. They need to feel alive as I do.