God's Pattern in Life's Pieces

It was our Christmas 2022 gift to our family. And while it was a repeat of the gift we had given a couple of years before, it was received with extraordinary delight. Yes, a shared skiing experience was just the right size for everyone. No exchanges necessary. Echo Mountain, here we come.

Echo Mountain is tucked between Evergreen and Idaho Springs, very close to Juniper Pass in the Colorado foothills. To give you some perspective of its size, it is 1.6% of the acreage of Vail Ski Resort. And, most importantly for a skiing party of 18, it has one chairlift. Yes, you read that right. One.

Our group of participants ranged in age from 4 to 67, with a variety of skiing/boarding competency. So in that sense, Echo Mountain was magic. Yes, pure magic. And on Monday, the 20^th of March, we felt as though we were the only ones on the slopes.

85 skiable acres. Breathtaking Rocky Mountain views. And yes, one chairlift.

There was no need to create a plan for where to regroup, or how to mix up our chairlift partners… we simply skied to the bottom. Yes, every ski run ended at the same place. Every opportunity to travel back up the mountain happened at the same place.

This wasn’t restrictive. It was liberating. For parents and grandparents who had children and grandchildren who prioritized skiing with cousins on their own terms, this was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

There were many ways to travel down the mountain. Many pathways to explore. Enough challenge to embrace. Even trouble to get into… but it all led to one place. One lift. One way up.

Liberating. Freeing. Joy inducing and memory making. And yes, in a very real way, inspirational.

In the Gospel of John, the 14^th chapter, in answer to a question from the disciple Thomas, Jesus said this.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

One way. The only way. Jesus.

You can look at this assertion of Christ as confining, or restrictive, or naïve, but in an astonishing sense, the singularity of this truth is freeing. Liberating. Joy inducing and worship invoking.

There is only one way up. And the beauty of this reality is that we all gather at the bottom, at the same place. At the cross of Jesus. Regardless of how we got there, or how many falls we had before we arrived… the same place. The same lift. The cross.

Many argue. Many chafe. Many resist… but Jesus left no other option. One way. His way.

All are welcome. Seats are available.

The way. The truth. The life.

No other way, but Jesus.

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