the mountains are for us

Last Thursday I said hello to unknown trails and well known silence

The green made me smile

The air made me sigh

It felt like a 90 degree type of angle.

A pen and paper kind of connection.

I looked around and felt everything.

Every time I passed someone, I said hello

Asked them how they were

Felt like I cared

Like it was for a homework assignment or something

As if 14 friendly hellos guaranteed an A.

But it didn't. And no one told me it would.

The mountains just make you kinder.

They take your heart and shape it into something beautiful. Something natural.

They make you breathe and feel

Make us feel like it’s ok to not be important

And that’s important.

Because there are 6 billion of us on this planet.

And there’s not enough time for us all to be told that we matter as much as we do.

Maybe that’s how the trees feel though.

Because last Thursday I went on a hike and I lost count of how many trees I saw at around number 1,087

But each new tree still caught my eye and held my breath

Shaped my heart to be a little kinder.

A little better

And I've seen 200 different mountains and never once have I thought one needed more snow or that it stretched a little too wide.

Because at the end of the day, every mountain has a sunset and every tree can be climbed

Every single one is named Beauty.

And I think

when we look at the mountains and stare at the trees,

God opens a window into what He thinks of us.

With all our flaws and every imperfection. With our broken branches and dying leaves

He still carves love into our trunks

And hope into our hearts

He wants us to know that He cares.

He wants us to know that He cares.

And I know that He cares.

Because He took the time to make flowers and rain, He allows rocks to hold stories and paths to have history.

I know

Because the mountains,

the mountains, were made

for us.

F. Sharpe