dancingthroughchaos

Awesome: ‘something Americans use to describe everything.’ from the Urbandictionary.com

I once knew a lady who scattered the word ‘awesome’ into conversation much as you might sprinkle sugar on your porridge and with almost equal abandon.  She was as likely to use it in reference to a particularly delicious slice of cake as to a pair of shoes, a timely email or the arrival of a much anticipated Amazon parcel.  The word, therefore, had completely lost any significant meaning so simply sounded hollow and thoughtless.

Dictionary definitions include phrases such as: inspiring awe; extremely impressive; daunting; formidable; profoundly reverential; inspiring overwhelming admiration.  Fell free to check out more.

I have recently enjoyed trips to both Switzerland and France where I was fortunate enough to see mountains that conjured up that epithet with no effort whatsoever.  They truly were awesome.  Their giddying height, stupendous summits and extraordinary geological formations caused us all to stop and stare.  Such grandeur serves as another reminder (should one be needed) that in the vast scheme of things, we are both small and fairly insignificant.  For me, I find myself full of amazed thanksgiving and worship of the One who I believe began the very process of their existence.  There may have been millennia of geological shifts, periods of intense heat, pressure, thrust and collapse; seasons of weathering with consequent avalanches, freeze-thaw action and attrition, but the results point to a Master Creator rather than a random arrangement of atoms. 

There are many great sights in the world but no man-made structure will ever engender the same feelings of awe and wonder that such magnificent vistas can produce..

I have seen wonderful constructions around the world: the Eiffel Tower, the Petronas Twin Towers (Kuala Lumpa), the pyramids, and the Great Wall of China.  Impressive as they were and are, the majesty of Victoria Falls, the vastness of the African plains, the crashing of the oceans, the inherent power of a leopard or elephant, or the delicate elegance of a Kingfisher atwork knocks them all into the proverbial cocked hat.

As a new decade beckons, I am grateful for the genuinely awesome experiences I have had, the places I’ve been, the fantastic people I have met, the body of ‘through-thick-and-thin’ friends I have forged onwards with, precious ones who I trust and know have my back. The birthday month creeps ever closer accompanied by a significant milestone so I have had cause to stop and reflect on some of the highlights of my life.  These include the wonder of carrying and giving birth to four fantastic children, each one a miracle in themselves, and spending the past thirty-seven years with a man who champions me faithfully.  There have been bereavements and illness along the way but I will be celebrating and looking forward.

I don’t know how many metaphorical mountains I still have to climb, but while most of my body works fairly well for most of the time, I intend to keep pressing on and pressing in physically, and spiritually.  And when one day I meet my Designer and Creator face to face and He asks me what I think of HIs mountains, I will be  able to answer with absolute honesty: ‘They’re awesome!’

Title photo: ©Ben Hodson https://www.go-montgenevre.com Other images: my own