Up to the Cross

Hello and happy Tuesday!  I've had an excellent past week...here's my attempt to sum it all up!

On Thursday last week I spent the late afternoon and evening with the Fletcher family.  The Fletchers are part of the Community of Nazareth and they invited me to come have dinner at their house and then go see their son Kevin's school play, "Sive."  So on Thursday after I finished my work at Spirit Radio, I hopped on a bus into town.  After some confusion with finding the correct bus stop, I eventually made it to The Yellow House (a restaurant/pub) in Rathfarnham where Els was picking me up.  It was such a nice day that day, so Els decided to drive me up into the Dublin Mountains to show me the bog.  I didn't know what to expect, really, but Els explained that the bog was really dark, moist soil that's very acidic...so there are no trees growing in it.  She drove up and up and up into the mountains to show me the bog.  The first stop was a beautiful lookout point.  The sky wasn't all that clear, but we still got a pretty good view.

Els kept driving and eventually we got to a point where we were on just a narrow road curving through the mountains...and on both sides was the bog.  Just lots and lots of brown land...and not a single tree in sight.  

I hadn't seen anything like it...

Apparently the turf (moist soil) used to be used to heat homes before there was central heating.  You could cut a piece of the turf, lay it out to dry in the sun, and then burn it to heat your home.  The dried bricks would burn for about 20 minutes.  Interesting.  Thanks again for the history lesson, Els!  :)

I had a wonderful dinner with the Fletchers and then went to see "Sive".  It was a rather depressing play, but it was great to see Kevin in it.  It was also fun to try and catch all the Irish humour and sayings.  I probably understood half of what they were saying.  :)  Oh well.

The next day, Friday, was a gorgeous day.  It was about 56 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about as warm as it gets in Ireland.  I looked outside and the sun was shining...quite a rare occasion!  I decided I'd better get out and enjoy the day because it might be a while before we get another one.  I was feeling quite adventurous, so I set out to take the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport) to Bray and climb up Bray Head.  I had gone to Bray with Chrissy once a few months back, but we only got halfway before it started getting dark and we had to turn around and head home.  This time I wanted to make it all the way to the top.  I got off the DART and started walking in the direction of the cliff walk, and as I looked up at Bray Head I saw a person standing at the top next to a big cross.  He was standing up with both fists in the air like "YEAH!"...and I thought, "I wanna be that guy."  So that was my goal.  To make it to the cross.

If you look really closely in this picture, at the hump on the left, you can see the cross!



So up I went towards the cross.  It was a gorgeous day to climb...there was a nice cool breeze, and the sun was warm on my back.  I walked for a while, and then I turned around at one point and was stunned by the beauty around me.  The blue-green sea, the beautiful greens and browns of the hills behind and in front of me...it was all so much to take in.  I took out my camera to snap a picture and was devastated to see my camera displaying a notification that said "Change the battery".  I couldn't believe it!  I have a spare battery for cases like this but I had left it charging back at home.  I was angry at first, and then I just laughed about it.  The Lord has quite the sense of humour sometimes.  I said out loud, "Okay Lord.  I trust You.  I'll just keep going and take in all this beauty with my eyes.  I'd really love to take some pictures, but I trust that You know best."  I continued climbing and kept turning around to "snap" pictures with my eyes.  I got to a steep part of the climb and almost gave up.  I'm in pretty bad shape...so I was huffing and puffing and my legs were beginning to get sore.  I took a quick break and drank some water, and then pushed myself to keep going.  I knew the view at the top would be worth it.

I reached the top of the mountain and stood in front of the cross for a second.  It was just me up there...just me with the cross before me and God's beauty all around me.  As I looked around and admired the views from the top of Bray Head, I thought, "Wow.  God is quite the artist."  I could see the Wicklow Mountains in the distance, the city of Bray down below, Greystones behind me, and the beautiful, vast blueish-green sea to my right.  It was a masterpiece!  I suddenly had this nagging feeling to check my camera once more.  I knew the battery was dead, but I went with the nagging feeling anyway.  I took my camera out of its case and removed the battery.  I blew on it, shook it a bit, and then put it back in my camera.  When I pressed the power button I couldn't believe my eyes.  The display screen showed FULL battery.  Not just one or two bars....but ALL THREE.  Completely full.  I laughed out loud and smiled, just thinking of this little miracle I'd experienced.  I thanked the Lord for this little lesson of trust that He had just taught me.  And then...I took pictures.  At the top, and all the way down.  :)  Enjoy!

This is the first picture I took at the top of Bray Head.  The strip of sand down there 

is about where I got off the DART and started walking.

I made it to the cross!

That mountain there with the tall peak is called the Sugarloaf.  

I've climbed that as well (see link above for that blog post)!

I'm so thankful that God restored the battery life on my camera so I could take pictures at the top of Bray Head.  What a blessing!  Here are some pictures from the way down.  I found a cool nature trail just on the other side of the cross.  Much more fun than going back the way I came!

Gorgeous!

Some pretty crazy tree roots!

Satisfied after the climb.  :)

Alright so I know this post has been reallllly long, but I have one more day to tell you about.  This past Sunday I went to my friend David's church, South City Church.  David used to work with me at Spirit Radio, but he left a few months ago.  We've been keeping in touch since he left, and this was the second time I've visited his church.  I met his wife and kids last time I came, and they are really nice and  welcoming.  When I walked in they all said hi and gave me great big smiles.  :)  I met some other really nice people at church yesterday as well and I was just really struck by how everyone really made me feel welcome and part of their church family.  Protestants are so good at that!  They just really have such big hearts and they make sure not to let any new people in without a warm welcome.  I re-met a girl named Krista that I had met last time at South City Church, and it was really great to chat with her again.  She even asked if I was doing anything for St. Patrick's Day and told me she'd let me know if she was getting together with friends so I could join them.  :)  Aside from all the wonderful people at South City Church, I was really struck by the great worship time we had before the talk.  I felt the Lord's presence so strongly while we were singing and praying, and at one point I was so filled with joy I just couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face!  I love moments like that.  To Him be the glory!

More next time.  Have a great week everyone!