There has always been a stillness in my soul that the mountains come with. A quietness to my verbal compass but a roar to my spirit. A healing to my pain. And a strength to my song. –C. Elizabeth

 

When my eyes see the mountains, there is a feeling inside of me that runs from head to toe. It’s a feeling that I have sought to capture and express my entire life without having achieved that very desire thus far in my 31 years. And I’ve come to the conclusion that sometimes, those precious ways that we feel in those moments, are meant to be kept as just that. Sometimes when your heart feels something, it’s the most powerful of all.

With Cherokee blood running deep within, I believe that God instilled a piece of home in me in those North Carolina mountains. I know and I trust that no matter how far I go from home, when my feet step back on that land where the mountains sour, that a little piece of me is home again.

With our little human souls surrounded by the vastness in the valley. Gazing at the colors of only the most perfect palette of fall. Looking up in awe- speechless to be exact.

There was a tradition started in the mountains before I was ever thought about in my family. One that has carried on for my entire existence here on this earth and one that I am faithful always will. One that reaches from great grandparents to great grands all in one little cabin at Lake Junalaska, North Carolina.

I hear him whisper “welcome home child, you are safe here. Just be.”

Lake Junalaska has been one of the most constant things in my life when nothing was. Maybe that’s why it carries a sense of home for me. I pondered the reasons and the whys of what makes this place special and came up with so many. It’s where life ephiphanies happen. It’s where relationships are cultivated. It’s what and where I define the word “fall” as. It’s where I can run and travel the world but come back to a place that fills me up more than any other place on the globe. It’s where we sleep on the screened porch on those chilly North Carolina nights. It’s where we wake up to hot pink skies blanketing the mountain range over the lakes edge. It’s where the hardest laughter of the year takes place. It’s where gathering around a table is where lifelong memories are made. It’s where family grows each year. It’s where generations are molded. And most importantly, it’s a place where God does some of the sweetest works of each year.

God had given my precious grandfather the word “unity” as our word for this year for our family. And what a crucial word that so many of us have lost- including us at times. Where we have all stepped out and are walking out our calling and walking through this crazy thing called life, Lake Junalaska brings us back into unity.

We sat in that living room that we’ve sat in for 30+ years and shared life and how God was calling us and where God was taking us. We shared the reality of our broken seasons. We shared the growth that has come from the darkness. We shared the miracles that have taken place. And we grew in the vulnerability. In a living room where nothing has ever been too much or too little to love each other through life’s darkest seasons, unconditionally and whole heartedly. This is us.

As we sat down to do our family devotion and quiet time on the last day- My grandfather opened up to that days date and began to read the devotion that would send our family back out into the world- His eyes welled up with tears when he realized that the devotion was about unity, with that very word typed multiple times within a short text. Truly that was our word for the year. Not planned, but divinely placed.

We needed this weekend. That recharge and fill up. With John and I stepping into a calling with huge life change up ahead, it is a pure necessity and blessing to step away to these mountains and to have our cups filled with the love of family. I heard recently that “rest” isn’t when we sleep at night. Rest is being still in His presence and embracing moments like this. To let Him fill our cups up so that we can pour back out with that very love that He has bestowed upon us.

Family lessons that have changed my life:

-Love your family gracefully and unconditionally. If anyone should believe in them, it’s you.

-Don’t gain the world and lose your family.

-Start traditions and don’t let anything come in the way. In a world of chaos, resist that.

-Put your phones, tvs, and computers away and be present. One day, it’s going to be their last.

-Sit around a table and dig deeper than just surface level. There is power in listening.

-Grace others no matter what- we are all broken. Don’t forget those hardest to love are the ones who need love the most.

 -Laugh till you cry and don’t be afraid to be absolutely and ridiculously silly.  

-Have lots of meals. A strong family has well worn seats at the dinner table.   

The ways of this world are tearing families apart and changing generations. I urge you to fight for it with everything you have. Start it young. We are still learning as every family is. We have gone through tremendous tragedies and seasons of brokenness in our families but with God first, we knew where we could always run to for a refuge in those times. Where we could step back and feel loved when we didn’t feel so lovable, where we could mend when everywhere else felt like it was ripping our hearts further apart. And if you didn’t have a good example of family, be that and create that. Not having a father drives my heart that much harder to strive to keep family together and growing strong.

Family has the power to change generations.

Go home and love your family- it’s the biggest impact you will ever make.