Columbine (Aquilegia) ~ Power and Gentleness in Suffering
People find God in the mountains. Abraham ascended a mountain so he could hear the voice of God. Moses ascended to see His face, and he came back down with his own face glowing like fire. As for me, i climb to lose myself in the quietness, to hear the symphony of a trillion pine needles softly strumming the wind. In the seasons when i am stateside, my aunt and i climb a different mountain every week. She teaches me the names of wildflowers, and i tell her about my adventures. Not long ago we summited Mount Audubon. On the way up, as with any peak above 11,000 feet, we came to a great scree field. It’s a desolate place above the tundra where only lichen grows. There is no soil, only scorched rocks and slabs of granite. It’s a place of howling winds and baking sun. Yet something extraordinary had taken root there. My aunt called me over to take a peek. There, among the sterile landscape, grew the most exquisite col...