Journey Center Blog

I haven’t written a post in a while. I figured it’s time again. Like the rest of you, I’ve had a busy summer- running around, taking vacations, visiting with friends and family, having barbecues, soaking up every possible moment of sunshine before the clouds and cold set back in. (I live in Seattle.) This has been a wonderful time of refreshment for my soul.

I have been experiencing God’s presence like the sun lately- a warm, relaxing, encouraging, peaceful presence deep in my soul. I’ve had a lot of changes in my life and heartaches over the last year (a lot of “rain”). But I find that no matter how cloudy it is on the inside, I can always return to God’s presence and find the peace and comfort and hope I need. When I feel like the storm will last forever, He is there reminding me of the internal sunshine and warmth He brings. His love and presence is like a bright, shining light radiating out of my heart and reminding me of all the joys and blessings in my life.

As the fall approaches, I am thinking about how my routine will settle down a bit. I’m returning to school and starting to think through the activities I will participate in each week and how I’ll schedule my time. For those of you in Sonoma County, as you are planning your fall schedules, check out the Journey Center website. It has been recently updated with all the events for this Fall. Make plans now to take advantage of all those gatherings and events that allow you to slow down and return your focus to the presence of the Holy within you. Wish I could join you!

Facing Challenges in the Strength of Community

by Joanna Quintrell, Journey Center Executive Director (8/09)

I realized in January that this is the year I turn 55 and as I paid attention to my heart, I discovered that it was important to me to do something challenging rather than just settle for now qualifying for the “senior” discount at some local restaurants! So, inspired by my wonderful husband John’s love of the great outdoors, I decided that I would take my first 5-day backpacking trek and culminate the experience with hiking up through the forest, climbing the 600+ stone steps and then the steel cables and, finally, standing on top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

I spent these last several months getting stronger physically, working out under the guidance of my excellent trainer, Jake Peri. I also spent the last month getting ready mentally- noticing my fears and doing what I could to have a positive attitude. I invited others to join me and on August 6, nine of us met up in Tuolumne Meadows to begin our adventure. There were two themes for this experience together…the beauty of creation and facing challenges. And we saw such incredible beauty! Everywhere we went, we were filled with awe and marveled at the Creator’s handiwork.

All my solitary preparation for this strenuous challenge was so important but once on the trail, I discovered that the real strength for the journey came in the experience of community. In fact, on the final evening when we camped below Half Dome, I asked everyone to share what they had learned about facing challenges from our trek through the High Sierras, knowing that these lessons and truths would guide us as we faced the ultimate challenge of the next day.

I smiled as I recorded what was shared, because each one of these lessons holds a great truth that also applies to facing the challenges of life:

• I am stronger than I think I am; I can do more than I believe I can.
• Ask for help.
• I learned that I can help others along the way.
• Sometimes hugs are the best wilderness medicine around.
• A word of affirmation and encouragement goes a long way.
• Cherish both the alone and together times, and honor these for others.
• When tired, stuck in my “plodding” and watching my feet…if I lifted my eyes and looked above me, there was a refreshment that came from seeing beyond my dust cloud!
• Take the challenge in small bites and even when it seems impossible, you can do it.
• When I was ready to give up, I just watched someone’s feet in front of me and stepped where she stepped…and I made it!
• If your pack feels too heavy, share the load…if anyone tries to carry it all, it’s too much.

We left camp at 7:00 a.m. for this hike that is classified by the National Park Service as extremely strenuous. We made it to the base of Half Dome and looked up at the 425-foot climb above us (at about a 45-degree angle) and wondered what we had been thinking! But as a group we encouraged each other up the cables and by 10:20 a.m. we had all made it to the top where we took in the amazing mile-high view of Yosemite Valley and all the peaks and valleys around. We did it!! What an exhilarating experience…and how clear we all were that it was the strength of community that made it possible.

Whatever challenges you are facing today, remember not to go it alone. Here at the Journey Center we offer resources for your journey…some are for you as an individual, of course, but many are offered in the context of community. You are warmly and lovingly invited to join us and discover that facing challenges in the strength of community makes the load lighter and the impossible possible.