Just Happy to Be Here
My Theme for Right Now
As I write today’s Substack posting, I am sitting in one of my favorite places in Estes Park, CO called Inkwell and Brew.
Inkwell is a local coffee shop that also doubles as a store that sells parchments, pens, and journals. It’s a neat store, but the coffee is good, and there is a nice space where I can sip on my Chai Latte (my drink of choice for today), read some scripture, write in my journal (already done), and now spend some time typing my public thoughts in black & white.
I won’t lie, I love a good coffee shop. One of my favorite places in Llano just so happens to be Fuel Coffee House. I love being able to go in there and see people, have conversations, and ocassionally be able to write or work in a place other than my office.
There is just something about it. Maybe there just are some things about that Hipster Life that are appealing…although not all of it.
If you’ve known me at all for the last 9 years, you will know that around this time of year I make my yearly pilgrimiage to the mountains of Colorado. The first time I came here, there were only 15 of us, now there are almost 50. Men from all over the country, mostly from Texas, come to spend a week in the Rocky Mountains to fish, golf, disc-golf (my personal favorite), and spend time hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park (not my personal favorite).
But the true purpose of coming here is what happens in the evenings. There are only two planned activites during the day.
(1. Dinner.
(2. Worship.
Everything else is unstructured, which for some is the hardest part of the whole trip.
Dinner is meant to be a time where we all gather back together from the day and enjoy the fellowship of the whole group. Worship is where we are entirely focused on God and what the Spirit is doing among us.
Last night, we had our first worship experience, and God is already moving amongst us.
Thin Spaces
In Irish mythology, there was a concept known as Thin Spaces. The idea behind a thin space is that there are places on earth where the veil between what we can see and the spiritual realm is very thin. In those places, if you listen closely enough, or even strain to look, you can experience a piece of the supernatural.
This mythology, which was passed down from the ancient Irish peoples, translated into the faith practices and beliefs of the Irish Monastic Traditions. However this is not just some abstract theolgical premise, but because of personal experiences, I can confidently share it is truth.
Estes Park Colorado, specifically the YMCA of the Rockies, is one such place. Year after year, I have come on this retreat and I have experienced the presence of God and the presence of the heavenly realm. In the lines of one of my favorite Hymns, here in the Rockies:
Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel his mighty power, and his grace.
I can hear the brush of angels wings.
I see Glory on each face.
Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place.
Yearly Theme
This year, I had the opportunity to bring a friend and brother with me from Llano; my buddy David.
David is the Facilities Manager at our church, and a Fire Fighter I go to battle with on the Llano V.F.D. But more than that, he is a friend. Now, I won’t go too much more into that because I know he’s probably going to read this, and then I’m gonna get blasted for being to mushy-gushy, but on our way up here, David and I had some great conversations. When you’re in the car with someone for 12+ hours, you don’t have much else to do but to pass the time by talking.
Before we left Llano though, David brought up the possibility of us making a stop at the National Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Colorado Springs. Since we were coming up a day early, Colorado Springs made a great place to stop and rest, and so we did just that.
Below are some of the pictures from that peaceful and solemn place.
As we made our way around the monument looking for the name of a couple of his Fire Brothers who had passed away in the last couple of years, a thought had crept into my mind: “I’m just happy to be here.”
Then, during a conversation I was having with David, those words, “I’m just happy to be here” came out again. And when we finally arrived in Estes Park, again, I just couldn’t stop thinking about how (you guessed it), “I’m just happy to be here.”
Over the last few years, as I have processed my trips here, there seems to be a theme every year. The ones I remember most really go back to our trip in 2020.
That particular year, the theme was “I can’t beleive we’re here.” That was the year, of course, when COVID caused all kinds of concerns. First, we weren’t even sure we were going to be able to come, then we had to wear those stupid masks on the airplanes, and when we got here stores were closed, and they started this dumb “Timed Entry” stuff in order to get into the RMNP. They still do that, by the way…and I still think it’s dumb.
I just remember thinking…wow…we made it! I can’t beleive were here.
2021 was a year where I was going through some personal stuff. There were some struggles in my life that I was having to deal with, and my whole time up here was processing all of that and working through it with my brothers. That year, the theme was Healing.
2022 was a year I got to bring my dad to the mountains. That whole year, the theme was Spending time with Dad.
Last year was a weird year. There were some things going on outside of my control, and it was the first year in many years that I came by myself. Even the person I was planning to come with had to change the timing of his arrival, so we weren’t even renting a car together.
Last year, I felt alone. Weird…I know…
I felt alone in a group of 45 guys, many of whom have come every year. I spent a lot of time driving around by myself, shopping for gifts for the kids by myself, and in the coffee shop pondering all the things that were going on in my life.
But by the end of the week, I came to a realization that I was never alone. That God was with me the whole time and that I needed that time alone with God to recharge and renew.
2023’s theme was Alone Time With God.
As I sit here in the mountains, with my Chai Latte on its last sips, I’m just happy to be here.
My prayer for you, my faithful reader, is that you find happiness in the Lord. True Joy of having breath in your lungs and a savior who loves you. Who knows what next year will bring…or next week…or even tomorrow. But in the meantime, I hope You’re just happy to be here too.
Stay Hungry for God My Friends,
Pastor Bryan