Lake Tahoe

Oh my. What can I say about this amazingly beautiful place? I've seen a lot of pretty places in my life. I was not prepared for the breathtaking gorgeousness of Lake Tahoe to knock me out of my jaded, "could the view of this place really be worth the trouble to get here?" attitude. Wow! The lake, the mountains, the huge pine trees, the weather, the color of the sky and lake and flowers. No bugs, no humidity, no crowds, no fast food billboards or other familiar signs of suburbia. Lake Tahoe is a step back in time, about fifty years back. It is definitely, absolutely, superlatively worth the trouble to get here!

We went to mass yesterday morning and again, I was unprepared for how much it moved me. First, take a look at these pictures. Please. I will wait. You will be so glad you did. Especially look at the second picture, taken from inside the church. See the view beyond the altar? The picture doesn't do justice to it, but it will give you a hint of what I'm talking about.

Kneeling before the crucifix to pray, looking past my Jesus at the beauty He created, listening to the musicians practice a contemporary song I knew well from my Protestant days, combined to move me to tears. The fact that it was Father's Day and I prayed for Terry, my dad, Terry's recently-deceased Dad, and our 45-year-old friend who was a wonderful dad who died in March, added to my experience of God's grace anew. Why does it surprise me that God continues to find ways to remind me I have only seen a glimmer of His glory??

The gospel reading yesterday was from Mark 4, where Jesus calmed the sea. How appropriate! The priest compared the Sea of Galilee to Lake Tahoe (Galilee is about 2/3 the size) and spoke to the many boaters in the church. He gave us the assignment of taking our Bibles to the beach to read the Gospel again and to reflect on how Jesus calms the storms in our lives. Ahhh. What peace. My soul is rested, my heart is glad and my God is in control!

Oh, by the way, the road to Lake Tahoe was not nearly as scary as those in Colorado. We took a drive all around the lake on Saturday and only one little bit was nerve-wracking. Thanks for the prayers!

Blessings from beautiful Lake Tahoe,

Sandy