Missing the Canyon

I have been away from Bryce Canyon for about 6 1/2 months. I began looking at some pictures last night of my adventures and realized how extremely lucky and blessed that I was to have experienced Bryce Canyon.

Things I miss the most:

Hoodoos

The General Store

Ruby's

Ruby's Campground Hot Tub

Off-roading

The Pizza Place

My Bryce Canyon Family

Sheeeeweeeeeee

Checking for stupid ID's in the gen. store

Hiking

Preaching

Meeting tons of random people every day

Getting a threat written on my door

Watching the Office

Playing spades

Talking on the phone all the time

The Silence

The Solitude

I know that I wrote about Solitude before, but I think that it is the thing that I have truly missed the most about Bryce. In the past few weeks I have been feeling extremely overwhelmed by the exhaustion and messiness of school. Sometimes I wish I just would have stayed out West. Life seemed so much simpler this summer. Utah is the most beautiful place I have ever been with some of the most interesting people. I spend all my time inside, reading, watching tv, trying to sleep. I honestly just want to hike. Not even that I want to hike because I could do that here, but I simply desire to be in the canyon. The red rock, the tall pines, the blistering sun, the hail storms, the sandy dried up river beds. That is where I desire to be. Working 8 hours a day and forgetting about it.

Looking back, I feel like I wished away my summer. I longed to come home to Durham. I longed to see a girl. I longed to be in the real world. Looking back, I wish I would have gone up to the rim of the canyon just one more time. I wish I would have gone on one more hike through the towering pillars of red rock and sandstone. I miss the stars. Millions, billions, or stars. Here I never even look up because there is nothing to see. This summer, every night I would drive back to my dorm I would get out of my truck and be astounded by the beauty in the sky. I was amazed every single time. I miss being able to just be alone. Not that I can't do that here, but its just not the same.

I long for the sense of self that I gained this summer. I was finally able to exceed my own expectations, I was able to in a sense recreate myself. I was finally able to be the person I desire to be and the person God desires me to be. I really miss being in a place where no one has preconceived notions of who you are or what to expect from you.

Last summer, was the best summer of my life. I gained of sense of who I am, who God wants me to be and was able to truly experience solitude in a way that allowed me to truly be in communion with God.