Three to four times a week I walk a four-mile trail that winds first along the Hudson River and then up into the forest on a hill overlooking the river. This is not the Hudson of the city with landmark bridges spanning it. Things up here near her origin are smaller and gentler, and the river herself is no exception. She’s that same river though, and she’s come to feel like a dear friend to me wherever I encounter her. 

I love sharing life with her and seeing how the seasons transform her. In our frigid winters, her surface freezes while she flows in her depths. She roars in the spring as the snow from the mountains melts and runs and fills her. In the summers, she’s full of life and offers refreshment. She’s my favorite in the fall though. The colors of the trees around her are vibrant and on some days, my favorite days, she’s still enough to mirror it all, doubling the beauty. 

These moments are such a reminder to me that my life can do the same. I am surrounded with God at all turns, and I pass by Him so quickly so often. If I’m still enough though, my life can reflect His Love and care for all, the most beautiful thing the world has ever seen.