I never get tired of looking west. From my window, Long's Peak and Mount Meeker stand perfectly between the trees, as if someone had framed them just for me. The Mummy Range peeks over the foothills when the sun shines, providing a hint of their massiveness.

Mountains can evoke powerful emotions. They are symbolic-massive, unmoving, strong, or cold, dangerous, foreboding. Awe-inspiring and breathtaking, their grandeur reminds us of our miniscule place-in status and location-on this planet.

But , in truth they are ever changing, ground by wind and water, moving ever so slightly, pushed by subterranean forces unseen by human eyes.

They speak to us of larger things; of weather systems and tectonic plates, of ecosystems and microclimates.

And then there are the small things, mosses and marmots, petals and pikas.

You hike and walk and walk and hike and still, the mountain is before you, as though it has taken a step for every one of yours.

To stand at the top of a mountain is to experience the magnitude of creation in a way like no other.

When I see the mountains, I am reminded that the earth is a gift to us from God, the Amazing Creator of this vibrant earth, with its myriad complex systems, given to us to steward and care for. We are called by God to take on this vital role as stewards of all we have been given. This call is wide and varied, from thinking about our "carbon footprint" to our footprint on mountain tundra.

As summer approaches and the mountains call us, go with senses tuned to see and hear and touch and smell, even taste, the greatness of our Creator in the majestic peaks and verdant forests of this amazing place we live.      ~PD