Home is where the heart is...

I have to say that this is where my heart is.
Here is where God and I do our talking best.
The first thing that entered my mind when I got out of the vehicle was "SILENCE!" but then, I realized that it was not silent. It is SACRED NOISE. There were the sounds of chipmunks and little song birds, children passing by with their thoughts on fishing or hiking or coming back to camp to build a fire and eat, camp robbers passed by once in a while looking to nab a tidbit off the picnic tables and the butterflies floated along happily. There was the whisper of the wind in the tops of the pines which spoke the words, "Here I am, come and see."

I found myself once more...I found myself with these mountains and the call that comes from there. The first time I was there, I knew it was a place that was sacred to me...a place where God and I could talk. A place where I left the world behind and concentrated on nothing but the earth and the life that springs from it. Oh, don't get me wrong, I was busy while there...perhaps too busy at times for my liking, but God talked. He talked about what he gave me here in this place, what I would take home with me and how He hoped I would never forget that He was always more like this place than He is in places of confusion and destruction. It's the heart and soul where He lives, it's the heart and soul that He forms into what He needs for us to do what He asks. I pray that I will always remember that no matter where I am, my heart resides with Him on this mountain. Of course, I mean it both figuratively and literally.
I learned that I could live without television in my home. Oh, perhaps I could occasionally turn it on for a movie or something, but I could live very happily without it in my life...in fact, I could and think I will...it seems to take away my peace of mind.
I learned that I cannot live without teachers. I am not a good follower when it comes to doing things in this world, every ounce of me rebels when someone tells me that I HAVE to do this or that...but yet, I need a teacher. Well, I have found that teacher too. This teacher had much of the same thoughts that I do and the same regrets as well. This teacher would gladly walk away from the world to live with Christ. This teacher is St. Augustine.
I have read many of his prayers and bits of his writing on this vacation. He and I are much alike in our thoughts only he seems to be able to teach me how to voice those thoughts that I cannot explain.
Is it good to be home? Yes! As long as it is with Him... I am not at home here, in this valley...only on that mountain, listening to God do I seem to be home. I want to go back again, as soon as I can. I want to find myself once more until I am as clear as the mountain water.


The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul:He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name' sake...