Minister Creek

The Minister Creek Trail is a beautiful 6.6 mile hiking trail in the Allegheny National Forest. The trail winds through some amazing rock formations, which is how I ended up there. I actually planned an entire family vacation around a single photo I saw in a book. We climbed over rocks, walked between rocks, had lunch sitting in the opening of a cave made entirely of rocks. It was natural. It was genuine. It was breathtaking.

The best compliment I ever received came from a friend we invited over for dinner a few years ago. She stood in our living room, studying the things I had hanging on my walls and remarked, "Everything in here means something to you." It actually came as a surprise to me and I had to look around to verify her claim. It's true - sketches of the kids drawn by a friend, a checkerboard that Phil had made in woodshop as a kid, a framed painting I had made with the kids' handprints and footprints... nothing superficial. Nothing that just happened to catch my eye in a furniture store. I felt like she was saying I'm genuine.

Once I went into a store and the lady at the counter seemed really odd to me. She had a fake tan, fake nails, fake blonde hair, fake eyelashes, blinding white teeth - I'm not kidding, everything looked so fake I wondered if there was a real person in there at all! Of course I want to look good, too. I color my hair every time I start seeing grays and sometimes I like to try a new color and a new look. I use the Crest Whitestrips occcasionally to try and get rid of the evidence of my coffee addiction. But with this girl, it looked like an obsession - or a disguise. I wonder what she was hiding from.

So in the last year, I have been getting more fit and healthy. It's giving me more energy and I'm seeing positive changes in my body. I've lost a little weight - not as much as I had hoped, but a little. I am seeing some definition. I have strength I never had before, and I'm less fearful than I used to be. This has given me a new confidence. I feel like I'm more comfortable in my own skin than I used to be. I go to this boot camp workout program three mornings a week - early mornings! For that hour I am surrounded by people who are motivated, encouraging, positive, and accepting. People who are genuine.

I did not leave God, I left people. And a lot of times I feel like I found the people I was looking for at boot camp. The very first class a year ago, I was hooked. And at the end of that class, when the entire group came together for a brief pep talk/teaching/connecting moment they call "school circle", I swear I thought we were about to pray.

There are some Christians in boot camp. I have identified a few already and have talked about spiritual things with them. They know where I am and they have not turned their back on me. They have not walked away. Because they are genuine. And that's the best compliment I could give them.