To The Moon and Back

My boy and I were in desperate need of some alone time. This time of year, the Mountains beckon to us, and we can't deny their call.

We headed up to the Wind Caves, a popular hike in Logan Canyon.  This is a hike I have done many times, but never with my own child.  I loved watching him as he found a field mouse, as he realized how high we were getting, and just talking to him.

The cave from down below.

The Canyon put on quite a show with her beautiful colors and crisp Autumn air.  We were both in awe of the beauty.

When we reached the cave, I realized that I hadn't prepared him fully for this actual cave.  We had talked about how it wasn't dark so there would be no bats or bears.  We talked about how it had been formed, through years and years and years of the elements beating on it.  But I didn't prepare him sufficiently for this experience.

You see, the cave is quite steep and there is a drop off that if you lose your footing, you are down the side of the mountain.  I knew about this drop off and how slippery the rocks could be.  But I forgot to tell him.  Immediately after I took these pictures, he started to go to another part of the cave.  He lost his footing and went careening into a cave wall and hit straight on with his cute little nose.

I was grateful that the wall stopped him, but then he bounced off and as he was trying to get to me, fell on his stomach and started to slide toward the edge of the cave.  I know that the Lord was watching out for us that day and stopped my sweet little man.  He was scared and so was I.

After the initial shock had subsided, we decided to trek up to the top of the cave and sit and have some trail mix and juice boxes. 

We talked about how scared he was and how he blamed the Wind Caves for making him fall.  We talked about how scared I was.  We then decided to head home.  He was traumatized, and honestly, so was I.

We had a pretty uneventful walk down the mountain, with a few falls (him) and a few almost heart attacks (me) and made it home in one peace.

As I have been contemplating this experience over the last 24 or so hours, I have realized how truly blessed I am.  I am so grateful to the Lord for protecting my son and sparing his life.  I know had he fallen out of the cave, he would not be here and I would be writing a very different post today.

It is easy to see the hand of the Lord in our lives when it is something big like this.  And I will admit that I often don't recognize it in the small things.  But, I know that in every aspect of my life, He is there to help and protect me.

Just as I love my boy to the moon and back, God loves me even more.

And I am so glad.