the grand canyon

Another post I never put up, but this one is definitely an important one to mention this year:

I hiked the Grand Canyon.

I didn't just hike the Grand Canyon...

I back-packed through the Grand Canyon!!!

It was a life changing experience for sure.

I trained my body to get through it -

and I didn't just get through it -

I did well doing it, too!

I think that is a big lesson I took from my trip.

I don't want to just get through things and say I did them -

I want to say I did my best, I did well.

This was one of the first times in my life that I felt true pride in something I accomplished.

Since I've also never been a physically active person in the traditional sense, I was also amazed that I could get my body to do that. (the week before hiking the canyon, I ran a 5k distance for the first time in my life as well!)

The examples of friendship and perseverance (not to mention moxie!) on our trip are also ones I won't soon forget.

There was a true sense of communitas on our trip.

If you're not familiar with this word:

com·mu·ni·tas:

the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group.

God really saw us through to the end.

We were mindful of His hand in our lives as we shared what the trip meant to all of us our second night there.

It's amazing what He's done and continues to do in each of our lives.

I know it's become kind of trite - but I use the word with reverence - the beauty of His creation was also so awe inspiring...

He is awesome.

Here's a couple more of the beautiful sights we saw, though I probably don't need to tell you that they don't do much justice to the real thing...

Love you girls - so sooooooo much!