Being in Alaska changed something in me. It’s really hard to hang over the edge of a boat with the engines turned off, hearing only the distant creaking of a monstrous blue glacier atop a mountain and not be changed forever. It was just me, the calm water, the creaking and my crisp, icy breath. I felt like an intruder–like I walked in on something above my paygrade—something too wonderful for me. And then this came to mind: “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it” (Psalm 138:6). I finally understand that scripture! It was just too beautiful. Too vast. Too breathtaking. Too wonderful.

What a healthy experience it is to feel small. Being next to a glacier that is 3/4 of a mile long has a way of making you feel rather small… but more than that it makes my troubles feel small too. How can my God create such huge and marvelous things and be unable to solve my daily issues? It can’t be. The biggest thing I am taking home with me from Alaska is this: He is able. It seems simple. And maybe obvious. But I constantly find myself forgetting He is able. Able to solve my problems. Able to direct my path. Able to teach me and guide me so I can grow. Somehow the busy-ness, car exhaust and online bill paying cloud that in my mind. But, I can report to you with full confidence: He is in fact able.

I felt small, but I also felt something else. Why did He chose to bless me enough so I could afford to go to Alaska? That’s an experience of a lifetime. Most people are grateful to be clothed, fed and sheltered and here I am being grateful for a trip to Alaska. I felt small, but I felt significant. Special. As I looked at the mountains I felt my eyes go misty, my breath catch and my heart overflow with gratitude. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:2-3). What an awesome and loving God we serve! And what a blessed and rich life I have already led. As I stood there it was like a thick, heavy blanket of abundance came over me. And so there I stood, tears spilling over the brims of my eyes and slipping onto my coat, all wrapped up in His love.

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
may the Lord rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.

(Psalm 104:31-34)