At Lake Konigsee, Bavaria (More pictures at the end of this post)
So I’m just back from a thoroughly refreshing summer holiday, hiking in the Bavarian Alps. On the boat trip to Konigsee, a very formal bugler played his horn, and the craggy mountains echoed the tune. It was a magical moment. We hiked all day in unspoilt, psychedelic landscapes, like a movie set, like heaven, I imagine, will be.
I quoted to my family, almost verbatim, a favourite passage from the Victorian preacher, Charles Spurgeon,
“If any of you can save up money to go to Switzerland, you will never regret it, and it need not be expensive to you. I have stood in the midst of those mountains and valleys; time would utterly fail me to speak of all the wonders of God which we saw in nature, and in providence.”
“One more remark, and I have done. If you cannot travel, remember that our Lord Jesus Christ is more glorious than all else you could ever see. Get a view of Christ, and you have seen more than mountains, and cascades, and valleys, and seas can ever show you. Thunders may bring their sublimest uproar, and lightnings their awful glory; earth may give its beauty, and stars their brightness, but all these put together can never rival him.”
I quoted this surrounded by mountains on every side at Konigsee, looking into their rainbowed reflections in a limpid, glacial lake. Spurgeon’s statement seemed academic. The beauty was exciting, exhilarating, emotionally overwhelming…
* * *
We hiked, we hiked for 13 days, Tergensee, Chiemsee, Konigsee, Neuschwantein Castle, the Black Forest…. I was hiking to deep and pleasant tiredness, but not exhaustion, averaging 12, 200 steps a day on my pedometer, several miles. And my heart was full of majestic mountains, of flower-strewn Alpine meadows, crystalline mirroring lakes, and streams, rippling. But then, though we had decided to spend 16 days hiking, I wanted to turn around. I had seen enough beauty for now, I was tired, I was ready to resume my regular life, meditating on the Bible, praying, reading, writing, gardening, running, yoga, family life, life with dogs.
Zoe said, “Spurgeon was right. Perhaps Jesus is better than the Alps.” And he is. Of Him, I never weary. I never weary of seeking his wisdom, of trying to see my life and my world through his eyes, of trying to align my life with the axis of his brilliant quirky vision. I never weary of reading his words, his encounters with people. How startling and unusual he is, how refreshing. How wise. How unique.
People know Jesus in different ways, and with different intensity. When I see someone who really knows Jesus, preserved in the written word, but alive and invisibly stalking the earth today, I realise how comparatively slight and shallow my knowledge of him is. And I resolve to deepen it. For when my life gets aligned with his wisdom, with how he would tell me to live my life were He visibly here, my life feels joyous, exciting, and refreshing, like those mountain streams.
* * *
Anyway, a brief personal catch-up. We are in a liminal and lovely season as a family. Zoe has graduated from Oxford University with a good degree in Theology, and Oxford’s Headley Lucas Prize in Theology, and will be working at St John’s Church, Hoxton, London come September. And Irene has graduated from Oxford High School. She won the “Young Biologist of the Year,” award sponsored by Science Oxford and Nuffield Department of Medicine; her school’s prize for excellence in Chemistry, and awards for achievement in Maths, Biology, and academic excellence. Lots of book tokens!
* * *
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver.
Roy and I will soon be empty nesters, and have just begun to think about how to live this third age/stage of life well. I hope to read deep and write hard; to get physically strong through long hikes and yoga; to garden, to travel, to continue to learn languages (we’ve been learning German for the last two years), and to have friends over to leisurely meals. We’d love to grow spiritually deep, intellectually deep, and to continue loving God, and people. No doubt, we will keep refining our preliminary thoughts.
Wishing you a happy summer, dear readers. Enjoy this beautiful season of your one wild and precious life.
We visited my cousin Margaret and her husband Dirk in Munich
A bugler awakens the mountains which echo his horn’s music
Read my new memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India (US) or UK.
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David C Brown says
You know the mountains cragged with snow
And all the grandeurs which pervade them?
I know
The One who made them.
What our occupation for eternity will be!
http://dcbverse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/creation.html
Anita Mathias says
I like that, David!! Thank you!
Andy says
Perfect timing as usual, Anita, as I needed to read this, and see the beautiful photos. For the first time as adults, I have fallen out with my brother who enjoys many exotic holidays (which we cannot manage for various reasons) but does not know Christ. He is offended by our not going to all the wedding events for his daughter (my niece) or buying a big enough present. With all the struggles we go through, I feel somewhat envious of his lifestyle, but not the low value he has of himself. I love the adventures we have in Christ. He eclipses the most beautiful of holidays (and we had had some) and which are fleeting at best. We love having ‘holy-days’ with him. We’re off on another adventure as my wife has been told she has a small cancer which needs to be removed and prophylactic treatment started. He holds us securely in the palm of His hand, and the view is fantastic, though misty at times.
Anita Mathias says
Hi Andy, a quick prayer that your wife’s cancer will be safely and painlessly and forever dealt with. I do love to travel, and feel I need the breaks, but would probably be equally refreshed hiking by the nearest National Park, or by a long-distance riverside or seaside trail. We have a campervan, which makes trips to Europe affordable. I hope your trip turns out to be a beautiful adventure.
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Angela says
I just love reading your words, Anita. Thank you for sharing them and the beautiful photos. They really are quite stunning. Congratulations to both of your girls! We’re about to have a transition here, as well, with one going off to college this coming fall. I like that you have good plans for the future.
Anita Mathias says
Why Angela, thank you!! Good luck with your big transition too.
I’ve just read some of the lovely stories on your website, and liked “Mothering your Mother.” You are writing so much, and well! xx
Angela says
Thank you so much, Anita!
John MacArthur says
…were… Note to self. Proofread.
John MacArthur says
As an habitual depressive, I have always found the mountains calming and restorative. I skied every year for decades and cloudless, pink tinged early morning runs was a source of exhilaration and great delight.
It seemed that CHS and I shared the same condition and much of the same remedy. Lovely pictures.
Anita Mathias says
Hi John, I went to boarding school, St. Mary’s Convent, Nainital, in a valley surrounded by the Himalayas, so I do find mountains exhilarating. In small doses. Probably 3-4 days of hiking. and then I get restless for intellectual stimulation. I prefer historic cities, exploring the cathedral, art galleries, museums, Botanical Gardens, trying different foods, doing self-guided walking tours around centuries of history. Too much of nature makes me feel restless for books and “culture,” though I feel a bit of a spiritual philistine for admitting that!
xx