My friend Adam Zakowski (featured proudly here in front of beautiful West Virginia mountains) is working this summer in the Monongahela National Forest in southern WV for the U.S. Forest Service. He's on 'trail crew,' meaning he gets to up and down and every other which way on the trails of this national treasure, making sure they're clear and in top shape for people coming from all over to experience supreme silence and solitude.We did a message series at h2o this spring called 'Rhythm' and one of the messages was on the importance of silence and solitude being a regular rhythm in one's life. In America especially, we get into rhythms of constant activity; our minds and bodies rarely have the chance to rest and let saturate the things they encounter throughout the week. God knew we would need this pattern, and so when he created everything he gave us the example of resting on the seventh day, and told us later that we should do the same (just in case you're wondering, God doesn't rest anymore according to Psalm 121:3-4, but we are commanded to in Exodus 20:8-11). So each week, it would truly do us all good to take an entire day off and enjoy Him! And even the rhythm of each day calls for a little silence and solitude.
Anyway, looking at these pictures Adam sent me makes me envious of his opportunity this summer. He's definitely working hard, doing a lot of physical labor, but he gets to enjoy sheer beauty that has been barely touched by man, and he gets to live simply for a few months. I think when he comes back to Morgantown he'll be better equipped to let the rhythms God intended for us be a regular part of who he is, and maybe he can help the rest of us here see the majesty of God being who He wants to be in our lives so that we can be who we were really meant to be in Him.
