Into the Wild

Our family cabin at Diamond Lake has a perfect view of Mt. Thielsen where it touches on the eastern edge of the water. In the morning, when the sun comes up, light dances on the water and shines through the pines. Diamond Lake is a shallow lake, lined with dead trees whose roots can’t hold because they grow in dry, pumice soil. On each side of the lake, bone-dry jagged limbs reach out and grab at your clothing when you pass by.

I love this place. There can be snow in July, or warm days all the way into September. Our cabin has one room, no plumbing, and a cache of old comic books that feel new again each year we come to visit. The moment the front door opens, the smell of a wood stove, maple syrup, and Pendleton wool washes over us. It’s perfect, every time.

As soon as my feet touch that ground, I become a child again. The silence shuts my mouth and the enormity of the trees open my eyes. It doesn’t matter if it is the middle of an October night during hunting season or the late afternoon heat of a summer day; it’s not the season, it’s the place. I hear only the wind in the trees, the deep drawing in and pushing out of mountain air. No one moves, certainly not me.

In the wild, we remember who we are: creatures. We need to remember that, more often than we think. It’s good to be out in nature and admit that we live in a world we didn’t create and cannot control. It’s even better to be immersed in it, reminded that we were not here first. I am not a total anti-technology, granola, Wendell Berry loving Oregonian ... but I am convinced that a little more John Muir and John Denver could do the world some good. A little more fresh air, a little more silence, a little more intentional witnessing of the glory that surrounds us.

Author: Zach Elliott

Zach Elliott describes himself as an ordinary man who loves Jesus. Anyone who knows Zach Elliott would describe him as far from ordinary. Zach began his career with Oregon State Police as a Forensic Evidence Technician, then served as a church planter and a pastor before launching V3, a ministry committed to sharing the Gospel and loving the Church. He is a husband, father, speaker, author, and thought leader, engaging the world with a powerful message of hope and restoration in Christ. He has a contagious love of life, finds beauty in the most unlikely places, and loves people with an uncommon depth of respect and honor.

This excerpt is quoted from Zach’s book, Now I See.