Trek Moments: For the Beauty of the Earth

I know, I know. I still haven't posted anything about trek. But the post I've been working on is just WAY too long, so I decided to do it in pieces.

On the last day of trek, we climbed giant hills for probably two hours. It was one of the most exhausting things I've ever done. I felt drops land on my arms and think it was raining before realizing it was my own sweat. I didn't know a person could sweat so much. I swear I was sweating out of every pour on my body. It was disgusting. Every muscle in my body ached and screamed, my throat parched.

But we finally got to the top of the mountain to flat ground. We sat on the ground and ate our lunches while resting, took pictures as families, and had a brief testimony meeting. After all business was done, we had a bit of free time to roam around and socialize.

Ally and I walked across the cracked dirt and stared blankly into the valley. But off to the side something caught my eye. The clearing was surrounded by scruffy bushes, like everything else was. But through a crack between two bushes, I saw specs of bright purple and blue, shining in the sun. I dragged Ally out of the clearing and through the two bushes to find this:

It was the beautiful place I've ever been. I was ecstatic, running around the field of flowers, taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. Ally wasn't nearly as amused as I was and left. But I stayed in the field, wanting to never leave. To just sit down on a rock and stay with the flowers forever. I can't describe the feeling I had there. Right before Ally left I said to her, "Heaven's going to be full of flowers."

 It truly was a sanctuary. I eventually left, a single wildflower tucked into the knot in my bonnet, reminding me of the pure beauty of life, even in the roughest of times.