Christmastime in Wyoming

We have been in our new house for more than a month now, and we are finally past the worst of the unpacking-after-moving stage. Only a few unpacked boxes remain, and I also have some organizing to do in a few rooms. The office/school room is seriously a problem right now, as is the master bedroom. Ugh. However, having gotten most of it behind us, we’ve been able to take some time off for family fun again. A few weeks ago we went into the mountains to cut our Christmas tree. Cutting a wild tree has become a family tradition for us, and it’s one of the things I love about living here in Wyoming. For $8-10 or so (depending on the area), you can buy a permit from the National Forest Service to cut a Christmas tree.

This year we went to a new, unfamiliar spot, so we ended up hiking for a much longer time than we usually do to find our tree. It was a gorgeous day, though, and considerably warmer than some other tree hunts we’ve been on, so we didn’t really mind.

After we had selected a tree, and were just starting to cut it down, our oldest son asked if we had straps to tie it to the roof of the vehicle. “Yes,” I answered confidently, “Dad has straps in the car.” He got a stricken look on his face… then asked if they had been in a cardboard box. “Yes, in the back of the car,” PJ said. As it turns out, PJ had a bunch of empty moving boxes in the back of his car that he was going to haul away but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. So that afternoon, before we left to go to the mountain, he had asked our son to get ALL the cardboard boxes out of his car and move them over to my car. Which he did... and consequently, we now had no straps! Oops! Fortunately, with some creative jockeying, we managed to get our 8-foot-tall Christmas tree INSIDE the car and home we went. 😁

It’s been fun getting our new home all decorated for Christmas. We put up the tree, and some lights, and other decorations. We set up our nativity and the Christmas advent/countdown calendar for the kids. We hung the stockings on the wall (had to give up our nice fireplace mantle when we moved). It feels all comfy and cozy to me. I love seeing all the decorations. Sometimes I wish I could leave them up all year, but then they wouldn’t feel as special, either.

Earlier this week we wrapped up another pre-Christmas visit with my in-laws. They’ve been able to come out to visit us every year at this time, and again in the summer, for a good number of years now. We also got to see my parents twice this year, most recently this fall shortly before we moved. The kids always look forward to seeing Grandpa and Grandma! We were supposed to travel to spend last Christmas back east with everyone, but changed our plans and decided to go in the spring and then, for various reasons, that trip actually never ended up happening. So it was a real blessing to get to see them all, especially with the craziness that has been 2020.

This was our first time hosting anyone in our new home. It was definitely different, as we do not have a dedicated guest room at our place anymore. Despite that, it was comfortable and actually felt less crowded than it did when we had guests at our former residence. This house has a more open floor plan, and more space in the kitchen and dining area, so I think that’s a large part of why it felt less like we were bunched together all day.

PJ’s parents hadn’t really spent any time in this part of Wyoming before, so they were looking forward to exploring the area a bit. The weather was cold and snowy for much of the time they were here, and we had lots of inside activities to do (like making Christmas cookies!), so we didn’t do a whole lot outside. We did, however, take them to Devil’s Tower on one of the nicer days. Our family had been to Devil’s Tower once before, though the younger kids were pretty small and didn’t remember it. Our guests had never been there. If you’ve never been, you should definitely take the opportunity if you’re ever in the area. The tower is much more impressive in person than it even is in pictures. Signs on the trail explain some of the geology and history of the area. It’s very interesting. It is also located in a very pretty part of the state (watch for deer on the roads, though, there are a LOT in the area).

It was cold the day we went, but the trail around the tower was clear of snow and ice, and it was still a nice day despite the temperature. (Last time we went it was around the same time of year, but the trail was icy and slick so it wasn’t as nice.) There was only one other car in the parking lot when we pulled in. When we were partway up the trail we saw a couple other cars pull in, but those people must have only gone to the base of the tower because we never actually saw them.

We walked about 1 ¾ miles from our car, around the tower trail, and back. We took about 45 minutes to do so, because we stopped a lot to look at things and take pictures. During that time, we saw five whitetail deer, a few red squirrels, some birds, and only two other people. It was really nice! We felt like we had the place to ourselves.

We saw another car or two just as we were leaving. I think this National Monument is open all year round, but I’m sure it’s much, much busier in the summer than it is in the winter. We saw some more hiking trails we’d like to check out when it warms up, so we’ll be back again.

One of the things I like best is how different the tower looks from all sides as you go around it.

You’re up on a hill, so there are some great views, too.

Lots of people come to climb the tower. I never intend on doing that. Yikes! I’ll keep my feet on the ground, thank you. This is an old stake ladder that you can see through some viewing tubes along the tower trail.

Can you imagine going up that thing? It’s not close to the ground, either. It’s partway up the side of the tower.

After you go past the entrance station, as you come into the area around the tower, there is a prairie dog town there beside the road. We had planned to stop and watch the critters for a bit, but we didn’t see a single one. This caused the kids to wonder if prairie dogs hibernate. No one in the car knew the answer for sure, which led to the kids doing some spontaneous research when we got home. (Spoiler alert – they don’t hibernate, but they also don’t come outside much when it’s too cold.)

There was a big storm predicted for the east coast right when our guests were supposed to head home, so they ended up staying for an extra day to avoid the worst of it. None of us minded the extra time with them! Now that they are back home we are working on getting back into our regular routine, and I am catching up on a bunch of laundry that I let go while they were here. My poor washing machine… 😵

The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing the decorations and lights. I like listening to Christmas music and taking part in various holiday activities. I look forward to celebrating advent with our family. It can be a time of mixed emotions for many people though, myself notwithstanding. This year has been especially challenging. Having just moved, I am missing friends and being involved in some of the local activities we traditionally participated in. Last Christmas was also a pretty tumultuous time for me personally, and I can often be triggered by unhappy memories these days. This past Sunday, our pastor said something in his message that really struck me. He was talking about a time when he had to make a long drive through a white-out blizzard. He wanted to stop, but had to press on because it was more dangerous to pull over than it was to keep going. All of a sudden, he drove out of the storm and it was a sunny day. He could see the storm clouds in the rearview mirror. He said that having driven through something like that and come out of it, no one would willingly turn around and go back into it – they’d keep driving forward on the good road. Yet often times when we go through a storm in our lives we keep going back and reliving it. Essentially, his point was that there’s no reason to go back. We should continue moving forward and moving on with our life. Leave the storm behind. Walk in the sun. He also talked about how sometimes we can pray and pray and pray for something and feel like we’re never going to get an answer, and then suddenly God moves and does a miracle. Our circumstances can change in an instant and suddenly the storm is over. His message was an advent message, and I can’t hardly even tell you how this story related to all the rest of his message because it’s just the one part that stuck with me. While I cannot stop myself from remembering things from the past, I can choose how they affect me. It’s just too easy to let a memory cause me to turn around and mentally put myself back into the stormy place. Painful experiences in the past don't have to result in a lifetime of misery. I need to make a decision to see the memory through the rearview mirror of my mind and move forward anyway. Some days are better than others. Some memories are easier to move on from than others. It’s a process, and I’m learning (slowly). I'm so thankful that God empowers us to walk in freedom if we will set our mind on Him.

"For to set the mind on the flesh is death,

but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."

- Romans 8: 6 (ESV)

Trust Fall

When our oldest was really little, about two years old or less, he used to like to jump off of "tall" things – like a couch or chair - and have PJ and I catch him. It was less of a jump and more of a lean-forward-and-fall-off sort of thing, but apparently it was really, really fun, because I remember him doing it over and over again. Problem was, he didn’t always wait to see if we were ready – or even if we were looking in his direction. He simply had complete faith that we were always going to catch him. At that age, he didn’t even consider what the consequences would be if we didn’t. He just totally trusted us, and each time we caught him it bolstered his confidence even more. Now, if we asked him to jump off of something so we could catch him, he would look at us like we’re crazy (he’s a “tween”), and he’d surely be quite skeptical that we would actually be able to follow through on what we said. He’d probably be looking at the ground more than at us, and thinking how it was going to feel when he hit it. I think he still trusts us, but he’s definitely got more experiences under his belt at this point that have told him that, while awesome (haha), his parents are also only human. 

Have you ever done a “trust fall” exercise? Ages ago, as newlyweds, PJ and I led youth group at our church, and I know we had the youth do a trust fall at least once – if not once a year. I remember doing it when I was a kid in youth group myself. I think it’s almost a youth group rite of passage, although I’ve also done it with other groups as well. Just in case you haven’t done it, or seen it done, basically what happens is that you stand on an elevated spot with your back facing the rest of your group who are below you standing in two lines facing each other, probably about three feet apart. Each person has their arms outstretched towards the person across from them, so that they are forming a sort of platform for you to land on. Upon being told that the group is ready, you will cross your arms over your chest and let yourself fall backwards without bending your knees or your waist. If all goes well (and I think it typically does when done properly and carefully) you will land safely in the arms of the group. It is a team-building exercise designed to inspire confidence and trust among the members of the group. It’s also kind of fun… however, it can be a bit difficult, too! Some people get up there and are just ready to go when the leader says so. Others take a bit more time to work up the courage to fall back. Unlike a two-year-old, it’s not always easy for us to trust others, even in a pretty controlled situation such as that. 

 

We can't always see where the road leads...

As a believer, I trust God. Or at least that’s my immediate reaction if someone asks me if I trust Him. If I stop to think deeper about it, though… well, it’s an interesting question to ask yourself. How much trust am I putting in God? And what does that really mean, anyway? 

When things are going well and we’re not facing anything too difficult in our life, we will likely answer that question with, “Yes, absolutely!” And we would believe it and mean it, too. It’s easy to say we trust someone when we’re standing on steady ground. Our genuine level of trust in God becomes apparent when we’re thrown headfirst into a tough situation. The ground beneath our feet begins to tilt. What is our response going to be? 

Last year I came up against a huge challenge to my faith. Nothing about the ground I was standing on felt steady anymore, in any respect. Life was upside-down and I felt utterly lost. Honestly, my immediate reaction was not to lean on God. My immediate reaction was to try and fix things myself. A couple weeks of that got me nowhere. Fast. It wasn’t until I turned to the Lord and put everything in His capable hands that things began to turn around in my situation. But even then, it wasn’t something that got better overnight. Trusting God means trusting in His timing, even when we’re in the middle of something hard. 

 

Which direction...

...should we go?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trusting God means acknowledging that He is in control, and that we are not. If we really believed that God is who He says He is, would we ever question this? I think not. That sounds harsh, but rest assured, I’m pointing the finger at myself first! It’s amazing how fast I forget what God has done for me. In spite of what I recently learned about trusting God, I still find myself doubting sometimes. Challenges that I have faced within the past couple of months, with house hunting and moving and all the stress surrounding that, have had me on edge at times. I’ve worried. I’ve fretted. I’ve lost sleep… all for nothing! It did no good. It didn’t change a single thing except to make me tired and put strain where it wasn’t needed. One week I’m believing that the Lord will provide and the next I’m staying up until all hours of the night worrying because, obviously, I don’t think He can handle it after all. (I’m rolling my eyes at myself now.) The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5-6, emphasis mine.) That right there is pretty straightforward!

 

When we trust God we will act in prayer before doing anything. Even if it’s just to think, “Lord, help!” as we start to move. “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16b) Do we really believe that? Do we trust that it is the truth? If we do, then we are actively carrying prayer with us wherever we go instead of sticking it in our back pocket to be used only occasionally. In Ephesians 6: 10-17, Paul talks about putting on the armor of God, and describes each piece of it and how to use it. Then, in verse 18, he says, “And…” (the “and” there would appear to indicate a continuation of the subject from the previous verses) “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, (another phrase indicating the continuation of the same topic) be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Prayer is a part of the armor that God has given us to enable us to stand our ground against the enemy. Let us not gloss over how important and vital it is in our lives! 

When we trust God, we’re going to listen to Him. We’re going to believe Him. We're going to stay grounded in His Word. It’s no secret that people aren’t always trustworthy. I’m sure that, without exception, we’ve all experienced some sort of hurt or betrayal at the hands of a fellow human being. (And if we’re being honest with ourselves, we can probably admit that, at one time or another, we’ve been the source of a hurt or betrayal felt by someone else, too.) Because of our experiences with people, it can be very, very difficult for us not to view God through a human lens. By that, I mean that we tend to believe (even subconsciously) that God might behave in a similar manner to how the people around us behave. So, when we are in a tough spot, we may find it hard to believe that God isn’t going to let us down. This is especially true when it feels like He has let us down. Let’s be honest here. Sometimes it does seem that way! Sometimes things happen that we think God should have prevented. He didn’t cause them, but He could have stopped them and He didn’t. That can leave us feeling abandoned. We want answers. We want to know why. We want a do-over. This is hard stuff! Trusting God means acknowledging that His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55: 8-9). He has a plan. Sometimes we might get a glimpse of what His purposes are, but other times we may never really understand (not in our lifetime, anyway). We have to keep in mind that it’s not all about us. God has not only our individual life in mind, but also the lives of all those who we come in contact with, and, ultimately (most importantly), His entire Kingdom. I can see how He has used some painful times in my life to bring about growth and maturity, but that doesn’t mean that I never struggle with the “whys,” and it doesn’t mean that there aren’t some things that don’t seem to make any sense at all. It can be comforting to know that He isn’t afraid of our fears and doubts. He is big enough to handle all our messy emotions. We can be honest with Him about how we’re feeling. He is able to bring comfort and peace to us in the midst of whatever turmoil we are going through. 

Choosing to trust God can be really hard. However, choosing NOT to trust God can be even harder. 

TRUST that you can FALL on God and He will CATCH you every time. 

 

 "Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."

- Psalm 9:10

 

(All scripture references in this post taken from the NIV Bible. Photos were taken by me in July, 2020, on the Red Gulch/Alkali National Back Country Byway in Wyoming.)