Following our Christmas in May at Ocean Shores, we had to return to Seattle and spend a little time re-discovering the beauty of Puget Sound.  I had missed Seattle so much in the early Spring and now we were driving up US 99 to familiar sights and sounds.

How wonderful it was to see the Space Needle, that iconic Seattle landmark, but more exciting to be able to see the beloved Olympic Mountains amid layers of cloud and fog.  The mountains were so exquisite with their layerings of every color of gray and white.  I think it is the mountains that I miss most while in DC.  There are beautiful monuments here, true, but the monuments of the mountains stand out as more impressive to me than any human-made creation.  The mountains are God’s monuments – and there are few things that can match their beauty.  It was healing, and such a grace, to be able to see these mountains during our stay.  I know there are many days in the Puget Sound where one cannot see anything on the horizon at all!

There is a graced lesson of faith in the mountains of the Northwest.  Knowing their beauty and majesty, it takes great faith to remember on gray and cloudy days that the mountains are still there.  No matter the weather, the mountains remain as a testament of God’s creative beauty in creation.  And, when weather is thick and uncooperative, we must remember in faith that those great and beautiful mountains are still there – still standing, even though unseen to our eyes, giving testament to the power and artistry of our loving God.

It was a grace to be able to see them during our short stay.  They renewed my spirit and revived my faith.  What do you see in your day that reminds you that God’s grace is present even though we may not always be able to see it?