My Soul Also Rises

One of those special “God Touches”

Three of our Gray Hogs group left Redding and traveled up I-5, intended to meet up with our fourth member, Jerry, near Salem, Oregon. The Central Valley heat had already risen, and the mountains leading to Mt. Shasta brought a welcome coolness to the air. As we reached the Crags and saw Shasta’s glory revealed in the distance, not only these words occurred to me, but I found my soul changing.

With a sound combining a snarl and a purr

the Goldwing carried me deeper and higher

Rising above the rolling hills of golden grass and oaks

into the sharp-peaked mountains

with heaven-reaching pines and firs

A blinding shade of emerald against an indigo sky

Still rising to the base of snow-covered Shasta

dominating the landscape for miles

And in the journey

my soul also rises

I love the mountains. Always have. But this ride unexpectedly exulted me. I could almost feel my soul welling up in my chest as we cruised deeper and higher into them. Maybe the contrast from the heat of Redding. Maybe the magnificence of peaks jutting into the sky after the flat Central Valley. Maybe just a divine appointment, a God nudge to my soul.

But it raised a question. What makes my soul rise up? What causes it to stay at sea level? What does that for all people? Music does it for many, and for me sometimes. The most recent song to touch me is “The Goodness of God.” A piece of art works for others. Or, a fresh insight into a known passage of scripture that I hear in a sermon. So the answer must dig deeper than the activity, right?

In pondering this, a passage from Psalms came to mind, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:1). I suspect I felt joy, a joy that comes from an acute sensing of God’s presence. Right then. In a special way.

I also suspect I ride because I get closer to the majesty of God’s creation, and these moments often happen then. The next question: what brings this enhanced sense of God’s presence to you that causes exulting joy?

Honestly, for most of us, they don’t happen every day. But maybe, just maybe, as we identify how we sense the presence and majesty of God, we can experience that rising of our soul more often.

Kick Starting the Application

How often do you experience moments like that ride? What sparks them for you? How can you cultivate those sparks?

PS this poem can be found with others in “Outdoor Adventures, Sacred Trails: Poems of a Traveling Man,” from Amazon or from me.