Our leader's experience allowed him to see those brutally imposing formations as a welcoming, familiar pattern of peaks and valleys. By trusting his guidance, we spent days adventurously exploring the craggy landscape, landing in places with views that took our breath away almost as much as the altitude did.

Standing in the shadow of mountains sets you firmly in your place in the presence of our creator. The still embrace of nature communicating with the design of every cell in your body lights a fire, causing you to feel at once intricately connected to everything and yet miraculously, tenderly and uniquely created. Powerfully protected in one sense yet entirely at the mercy of the wilderness that surrounds you. 

There are moments where it seems impossible that the sun would have the audacity to shine once more.

And yet, we rise.

My dreams of giving you a natural, simple welcome into the world were long gone, yet that morning I felt overwhelming peace. Every step of the way you and God made the decisions very clear. Subtlety is not your forte and your birth was no different.

It's 2020, and we could all use some hope. Not the commercialized version of hope that decorates day planners and reaches for an unrealistic future where everything is good all the time. I'm talking a wild, untamed hope that meets us right where we are, that sits at death's bedside, that is present for the diagnosis, that stands in the rubble even as the dust settles. A hope that is as much a part of us as air and rain are part of a forest. A hope that propels our spirit forward just as breath moves the body.

If hope is our foundation, well, that changes everything.

The Ronald McDonald House Family Walk has been rescheduled for October 31st. We will still be participating in the walk and fundraising as Team Norah, but I'm going to be kicking everything off in August this year. You didn't miss anything! Our normal summer fundraiser has just been pushed back, as have so many events this year. T-shirts (and more!) are in the works and I can't wait to share!