Where are your favorite fall (autumn) vacation spots? What do you usually do when you’re on vacation this time of the year? Do you like to go to the beach or up to the mountains?
If you like going to the mountains in the fall, what do you usually do there? Do you spend time walking in the woods under a canopy of lovely fall foliage?
One of my favorite mountains to visit is the Great Smoky Mountains. The mountain ranges are both in Tennessee and North Carolina, and you can see quite a long way off. God made those mountains so colorful that on some days you could see multiple layers and hues of blue and purple.
Some years ago, my family and I hiked up Mount LeConte. No big deal to scale more than 6,500 feet into the sky, isn’t it? We thought so. By the time we arrived at the start of the hiking trail, having driven all the way from Georgia, we had just enough time to get to the top of the mountain before the sun set. So off we went.
As a former Girl Scout troop (company) leader of some repute in my small high school, I can tell you that it was one of the hardest vertical hikes of my life. Going up the mountain, I kept wanting to go back down to the car and drive home. It was exhausting, and we were passed numerous times by retirees and elderly joggers (with their exceptionally fit running dogs).
At one point, I was literally clinging to the side of the mountain wall, holding on to dear life while my then young son said, “If Mom fell into the valley there, we may not be able to go get her.” Or something life-changing to that effect.
I kept climbing.
Somewhere up the mountain, my husband (bless his heart!) ended up carrying his backpack, my backpack, and our son’s backpack.
Then we stopped in the middle of the misty mountains, and read the Bible. It was glorious. I don’t recall what passage we read because I was profusely thankful to be alive and that was all. But we read the Bible and we prayed.
I do remember seeing some odd-looking red squirrels before we continued our hike up, and that took my mind off the idea that I could fall to my death any time I slip to the side (because I was wobbly and all).
Finally, by the mercy and grace of God, we reached the very top of the mountain.
In my mind, I was thinking “hotel” but when the check-in person handed us a rusty bucket so we could go get water from a pump in the middle of nowhere, I knew it was trouble for this city girl.
I grew up on a tropical resort island, in a bustling city with hundreds of years of beautiful brick buildings, paved roads, and all the luxuries of modern living. You know, like running water coming out of faucets.
I didn’t know what to do with the rusty bucket and how I was going to brush my teeth with one hand. There was no sink.
Please don’t remind me that I said I was a former Girl Scout troop leader of some repute.
And then they told us, “By the way, watch out for rats. They sometimes get into the cabins.”
Say what?
I thought my hike that day had ended, but no. There was another quarter mile to go to the cliffs of the mountain, to the edge of the world, where a whole bunch of people gathered to watch the mountain sunset over the clouds.
I wondered then how many of those hikers were Christians, who believed that God created all that and more? That God created us, and knows our thoughts intimately? Who understands our hopes, dreams, desires, ideals? Who knows our weaknesses, pains, sufferings?
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
At the end of the day, only God matters. No matter where we are in life or environment, God is still sovereign. God is still God.
Several years later, when I wrote Reach for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 2), I recalled my own mountaintop experience and how God delivered me through my mountain challenges. Of course, writing fiction is not like real life, and might be more intense. In the novel, two people from two different continents, each with difficulties in their own lives, found themselves in the same mountaintop resort where God has put them to find Him and to work through their problems.
If you’d like to read more about the book, feel free to check out the longer description at your favorite retailers. You can find the retailer links for Reach for Me at JanThompson.com/reach.
Well, have you had a difficult journey up a mountain in your life? Whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, how did God deliver you from it or through it? How did the challenge change your life or your perspective of who God is?
Thank you for reading my blog post today.
I pray that you and your family have had or will have a wonderful Thanksgiving season.
In Christ,
Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
Hi Jan, I love hiking and find being outdoors is one of the best places to reconnect with God- your post brings back many great memories. I remember a few very difficult mountains (literally). Lady Northcote Canyon was a particularly challenging one, as was climbing Frenchmans Cap. I love that God is encountered in the grand and majestic, but also in the small, humble and quiet. Thanks for sharing,
Blessings:)
Jan! That was an awesome story! Thank you for sharing. I too am taken away by the beauty God surrounds us with! I have not been on a vacation in many years, last time I can think was 13 years ago hubs took me to Atlanta for my birthday. I do like to drive up to Savannah for a day to walk around the squares and the river front!
Hi Jan! “Be still and know that I am God” is a Bible truth that has sustained me as a pastor’s wife, while caring for my aging parents, a house fire, and other difficult times. In the business of life, I often forget to “be still.” The Smokey Mountains in Tennessee are my favorite mountains. I have driven through numerous times in spring and summer and at various times during the day, but never at sunset. In the 1990s climbed Clingman’s Dome with my youngest son and my broken arm in a sling. In 2015 we drove through the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina. As a retiree, I now enjoy driving through the Smoky Mountains National Forest with my car windows open slowly through the canopy of trees and in the stillness hear the rippling brooks. The last few days, I have seen God’s majesty and might in the pounding waves overflowing our pier and spraying our lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan. God is good. Great to live in such a beautiful area. Best wishes.
God is certainly with us in life’s challenges. I love mountains and beaches in any season. I’m enjoying the fall colors now in south central Kentucky. It is so windy they don’t last long. But it is beautiful.
We traveled a new-to-us mountain pass in British Columbia in late September. The colors were glorious, and I took a lot of photos. I know… when do I NOT take a lot of photos?!? I’m not so into climbing or steep hiking these days, but I’ve been on a few where I was 100% certain I was going to die before getting to the top (or getting back to the car)!
That’s one of my favorite verses.
We live near the beach, so last Sunday got to go hiking along clifftops next to the ocean. And last month we got to go up to Lake Tahoe and enjoy the fall colors!
We have family in the TX Hill Country, so that’s usually our vacation destination. We like to visit the ocean on the way. We’ve been to Galveston and Corpus. Next time, we’re planning to go to Surfside Beach. People tell me that TX beaches aren’t the best ones, that we should go to Florida or Alabama for blue water. Corpus has blue water and I’m only interested in seashells anyway. So if the beach has seashells, I’m good.
I’ve never been to Lady Northcote or Frenchman’s Cap but they sound daunting! Glad that God is awesome and He makes not only mountains but also plains. I’m a “stay on the ground” person but from time to time I’d try to scale a mountain! Glad you like hiking too! I certainly do less of it these days, but there’s a trail near me (on flat ground)…
Thank you for your comments!
Thank you so much, Paula! Yes, I do love Savannah and hope to go back there soon! Did you see the fireworks at the riverfront? I caught one during a Fourth of July weekend and it was really nice to see them over the bridge!
Thank you for your comments, and thank you again for inviting me to your blog the other day. I enjoyed the interview!
Renata, thank you! Wow, that’s a lot you went through! I am sorry to hear but I know that God sustained you and your family. He is trustworthy and faithful and I am truly thankful!
I can imagine the lovely drive in the Smokies! One time we drove and stopped, drove and stopped all along the way so we could stand by the railings and take in the vistas. The forested sides of the mountains were so gorgeous!
Every now and then I like to stop at the pottery shops in Pigeon Forge. I can’t buy them all, but those mugs are better looking than anything I can ever make myself!
Thank you again for your comments and enjoy your autumn season!
Thank you, Diana! I looked out my windows this morning and wondered when autumn was coming at its fullest. The leaves have turned yellow and orange but in years past, they had been more spectacular than this year. I don’t know why, butI think I’m getting a short autumn! Maybe it’s the wind like you said — the leaves are all over the yard HAHA. Yes, they’re still beautiful.
Thank you again for your comments and I do agree that God is always with us through thick or thin!
Valerie, thank you! Canada in the fall is on top of my bucket list. I can just imagine the amazing foliage. I see them on Pinterest and go “wow” every time!
LOL yes when I climbed that vertical mountain side, I had no idea it was really vertical. They put steel railings nailed to the side of the mountain so you can have a grip (on what, I don’t know!). I was shuffling my feet sideways and I was truly thinking, “What am I doing here!”
Thank you again!
Margaret, that sounds lovely! It would be wonderful to live near the beach. I grew up on a tropical resort island, so the beach was always no more than 10 minutes away. Now I’m in a landlocked city and must drive at least 4-5 hours to get to the coast.
I do like coastal clifftops! The last one I went to was at Ecola State Park in Oregon. What a lovely seascape and I remember taking endless photos.
I haven’t been to Lake Tahoe, but it sounds like an amazing place to visit! Maybe that’s next!
Thank you so much for your comments. Have a great day in the Lord!
Thank you, Shannon! Yes re: seashells! I’ve collected trays of them! Sometimes friends went to beaches with shells and they brought us buckets of them. I still have them, and added them to my own collection. Some day I’ll go back to beaches with more shells. When my son was younger, we would try to name them using shell identification books and online searches. It was fun!
I haven’t been to Galveston, but I’ve heard a lot about it. I’ve been to some beaches in Alabama, Florida, Oregon, South Carolina, and Georgia. Hope to add more beaches to my list!
Thank you again four your lovely comments about beaches. Beaches are truly my favorites places (most of my books are set on beaches or coastal cities), though the mountains are in my top vacation places too!
I think most of us will have had a difficult uphill journey at some point in our lives. One such time was walking alongside my father while he fought cancer. The last six months, my sisters and I took turns spending the day with my dad, helping mom care for him. We basically put our lives on hold for six months. I don’t regret a minute of it – well, other than the fact that my dad passed away but I was by his side when he breathed his last.
Thank YOU, Jan, for visiting with me! It was wonderful getting to know you!
I have never been for the fireworks, I stick close to home during the holidays!!
Hi Jan! Thank you for the post! I’m trying to decide…beach or mountains…can I say both? We love both-camping in Lake Tahoe or Carmel by the Sea! Both beautiful!