I love climbing trees. I think I always have, and I especially do now when the trees seem to be in cool places and offer new vistas. In month 1 in Albania, it wasn’t a tree, but we did climb a small mountain that served as our megaphone. At the top, we could see out over the Adriatic Sea and we yelled Jesus’s name over the dark, lethargic city. We prayed hard for Durres from up there. In Romania, it was a tree over a waterfall, leading toward a cave that Zach and I wanted to explore. The branches were a safety net to hold as we searched unknown places. In Malawi, I remember two. One on Mulanje Mountain, revealing entirely new vegetation and an ecosystem I could hardly name any part of. The other was at Mabuya camp, during a weekend with the whole squad. I climbed there to be alone. To tell God what was on my mind after my first month in Africa. I didn’t intend for my teammate to be searching for me for half an hour.
My team on the top of the hill overlooking Durres, our first month on the race.
The waterfall visited in Romania.
The Baobab tree in Zambia was a picture of majesty and elegance. There were stairs, but I had to take the challenge. From the platform, you could see steam rising from Victoria Falls a ways off, like a prize for making it up there. The tree at the top of the Falls itself was like adding one teaspoon of sugar to a recipe that already has 4 cups; it did nothing to enhance the breath-taking view we already had. I think the branches actually made it worse. Out on a safari in Botswana, one tree almost gave me a better view of the giraffes. . . but they were pretty far away. Also on that safari, we climbed a fallen tree all together—some trees are easier than others.
The view from the top of the Baobab tree. Trying to spy a giraffe.
Far off, maybe you can see the steam.
Group safari photo–Botswana animals were incredible!
The trees in Cambodia at Angkor Wat –some of the coolest I’ve ever seen—were off-limits due to being a World Heritage Site. I was thwarted. Last month in Thailand, I climbed a tree on James Bond Island as part of our quest to reach the famous rock wall pictured in 007: the Man with the Golden Gun. I encountered the thickest spider web of my life, and all I could see differently was the top of tourists’ heads. And here in Malaysia, I can already say there are abundant trees. I don’t know what their story will be yet.
Siem Reap, Cambodia
the less-touristy parts of James Bond Island
Zacchaeus was a wee little man, as the song goes. “He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.” Luke 19:3-4
He wanted to see who Jesus was, so he climbed.
Sometimes I climb trees for fun, but usually it’s also to get new perspective. Maybe to see something great, or to see something hidden. There are a lot of days where it feels like I’m climbing something in order to see Jesus; I’m certainly sweating as if I am. I seek perspective, hoping to more fully understand what God is doing and why I get to be here. I try to ask good questions, pray honestly, keep my eyes open. Sometimes it works, sometimes I just get scratches and come back down.
I don’t know what God thinks of our attempts to find or see him. I think sometimes we go about it the wrong way, but I do know that he says we will find him when we seek him with our whole heart. I also know that Jesus invited Zacchaeus to dine together when he climbed his tree, so my tree-climbing is not likely to stop soon. 🙂
