For just a smidge of background I have to share one little tid-bit...just after Christmas some of our Friends/Clients donated a couple of older snowmobiles to our family...they don't use them and they didn't run...great project for the boys! Well, it was a great project for them and with just a little elbow grease and one new battery we were set for fun...Thanks boys for all of your work ~ You amaze me!
So with snowmobiles ready to ride, Chad and I decided we should go enjoy our day together, rather than going to get something yummy to eat and maybe seeing a movie or, or, or...we decided to gather our snow gear and a few snacks and head out for the day...and what a perfect day for a little Valentine fun!
We got things together and left our house just a little before noon and headed to Garden Valley to unload the snowmobiles and ride back into Silver Creek Plunge (if you haven't been there, it is a hot springs swimming pool nestled in the mountains) Pure Bliss!
What a treat ~ the weather was perfect, the sun was shining brightly, the snow was shimmering in the sunlight, the water in the pool was outstanding ~ imagine floating around in a giant bathtub and you've got it...and the best part of all ~ we were the only two in the pool...How lucky could we be?
After spending some time relaxing in the water we decided to go for a "little" ride...well our little ride turned into about a 100 mile ride!!! We made a couple of extra jogs off the beaten path and ended up back at our car after dark...
Life is interesting! Before this day I would never have thought that snowmobiling could have any symbolism to my life ~ But it does! Not sure why, but these days my brain just seems to be going in high gear...always thinking, always dreaming, always pondering...
Well this day was no different, maybe just a little more intense; possibly because while riding you are not talking (well, at least not to anyone but yourself) with the exception of all of our little stops to "visit" and take photos here and there, oh and we cannot forget the snow angel moments; but then we were right back at it...
During our riding time...
I found that I really do not like going down!
Going up ~ even though it is much more work, seemed so much easier to me.
UP vs. DOWN...such a strange thought,
yet I was consumed with this thought as we rode...why is UP easier?
I am IN CONTROL of the situation when I go up,
I choose how fast to go,
I choose how aggressively to maneuver myself back and forth to take the twists and turns in the trail,
I choose the pace; whether it is slow and steady or crazy and slightly out of control...
at times, it was hard to go up, I had to truly hang on -- my hands, wrists, arms would begin to ache -- during the rather bumpy sections I'd have to work my legs like crazy to keep myself positioned where I wished to be (had I chosen to slow down a touch, this may have all been a bit easier, but it was a moment I enjoyed -- even through the difficulty)
I found that when it came to going DOWN...
I felt much less comfortable,
I felt out of control,
I felt somewhat helpless
(like I was just holding on for the ride as the snowmobile made its own way)
maybe the feeling too closely resembled for me the feeling of falling down...
falling down in the real sense of the word and in the sense of being down and feeling "down"...
Many people talk of the difficulty of picking yourself back UP after you're DOWN...
well, I think I'd much prefer being at the point of picking myself up rather than falling down...
Again, I am in control...
Yes, getting UP, picking myself UP, putting one foot in front of the other...all of those things are hard, they can be painful, but I choose; whereas, when I am falling i have no choice, it hurts, I cannot control how hard I might fall, I feel helpless and scared and unsure...
One thing that is sure is that I do know that I WILL PICK MYSELF BACK UP ~ although hard, I KNOW I can do it...but when I am going down, I have doubts....
So there was one crazy thought that raced through my mind for mile after mile...but I LOVED thinking about it...I LOVED realizing within myself that I am strong enough to pick myself back up each and every time I fall...I loved seeing symbolism in the little things...
Moving on ~ let's explore some of my other thoughts...this is kinda fun!!!
I much preferred following my dear hubby...
it was easy, I didn't really have to think about what I was doing or where I was going...
now, if you know me well, you might be thinking...hmmmmm, I would have thought you might prefer leading rather than following...
in many instances this is the case, but again I found myself fascinated at all of these fleeting thoughts racing through my mind...
it was easy, I didn't really have to think about what I was doing or where I was going...
now, if you know me well, you might be thinking...hmmmmm, I would have thought you might prefer leading rather than following...
in many instances this is the case, but again I found myself fascinated at all of these fleeting thoughts racing through my mind...
Why is it easier, more comfortable to follow him than to lead?
Well, my first answer that came very, very strongly to me is that I completely and totally TRUST my husband and so I know that I will be safe by following him, he will not take me where I cannot go, I really did not have any worries, I could watch and follow exactly on his tracks and I'd be okay...for me this was a lot like following in my Savior's footsteps, He will never lead me astray, just as my husband never will. I loved thinking about all of this and I found myself loving my husband even a little more that day (didn't even think that one was a possibility!)
But then to put a little twist on this, Chad liked for me to lead because he was forever turning his head around to be sure I was okay behind him. He kept a very watchful eye on me...he stopped often to check in with me to see if I was happy, if I was warm enough, if I was doing okay -- yes, he is very thoughtful!
He would encourage me to go ahead of him...If we were going down a well traveled area, I was okay with this, or if we were climbing I was okay, but that going down stuff would just about put me under...the beautiful thing was that each time I would feel frightened or unsure, he would encourage me, he would tell me how I could maneuver an area and then he'd watch as I did it ~ he had confidence in me and after I was successful, my confidence was strengthened...again, I could compare this to the way that our Savior "wraps His arms around us" and waits for us to see that we can do it. Just as my husband knew I could do it (whatever "it" might be, so does my Savior). They want to help us believe in ourselves...my husband has said to me a few different times that he wishes I could see myself through his eyes...I know our Savior feels the same way! How lucky am I to have all of this love and others believing in me???!!!
One last little thing, hang in there with me, I know I am long-winded, but I had a lot of thinking time! And I just have to get this all out before I forget!
It was starting to get dark, I was a little worried, what if I couldn't see, what if we got lost, what if I fell off the side of the mountain because I don't see where the trail leads, what if, what if, what if...
I know, totally silly, but sometimes my mind does these crazy little things...
Well, I have to admit, that I actually really enjoyed the dark, riding at night was a pleasure and full of so many new insights that I had never imagined! It was not harder, I could see perfectly once darkness fell, it was the moments prior to the darkness that were most frightening, that were the most difficult to see...when the sun had completely set, the lights from the snowmobile lit the trail in such a way that I hadn't experienced that entire day...my focus was entirely on the trail in front of me...entirely on the section of glimmering snow that lay just ahead. I was no longer distracted by an incredible rock formation, or a cascading stream of ice and water, or fallen trees...all that I saw lay right before me...all that I thought of or focused my attention on was within those few brightly lit feet...
It was sooooo easy ~ very little effort ~ I simply followed my husband and looked into the path that was illuminated ahead of me. I just followed the light and as I thought of this, I thought of following the light of Christ...staying focused on the path, not wandering off or being distracted by all that is just off to the side.
What a magnificent day this was for me...
I learned that each day there are things for us to grow from and they may come in the most unexpected ways, I learned that I have a love for my husband that will ever continue growing, a trust in him that I am so grateful to have; I learned that I am strong...I'm not afraid of getting back up, I'm not afraid of the hard work that it takes to put one foot in front of the other...I'm grateful for the magical moments that come and for the very magical times I have to spend with the man of my dreams!
That was one amazing date ~
quite possibly, 10 of the best hours of my life!!!
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