Rocky Mountain Adventure -Guest Heart Thursday

Years ago, when our children were "tweens," my husband and our family along with his Brother, Sister-in-Law and their family were sightseeing in the Rocky Mountains near Estes park.

The cliffs along the road sparkled like diamonds.  We were in awe so we pulled to the side of the road to look at the bright  rocks of the steep hillside. 

The kids decided to climb the side of the hill.

Our middle daughter had climbed quite a ways up when the unthinkable happened.  She reached out to grab part of the cliff when a huge piece of the cliff came loose on top of her.  Later she said,  “I tried to push it to one side with my hands so it wouldn’t hit my cousins, but it was too heavy.”  Everything went into in slow motion as I watched the boulder land on my nephew, then bounce back onto my daughter. 

The giant rock hit both her shins and she flew backwards off the cliff, landing on her back in a cupped area of sharp rocks below.

The huge rock bounced down to land on my young niece, hitting her hard on the thigh as she slid down the cliff on her feet.  My daughter said at that moment she felt herself blacking out--but she was so worried about her cousins, she wouldn’t let herself go into the darkness. 

As she lay there, she was afraid to move because she hurt so badly.

I don’t remember how I got to her side, but suddenly I was there, my husband close behind, checking her legs, her back while my brother-in-law, once he knew his son was alright, carried his daughter to the edge of the road.

Miraculously the kids only sustained scrapes and cuts—there were no broken bones, no lasting consequences.  They insisted on going on to Estes Park.

On our way back, we pulled over to the spot where our children had so narrowly escaped harm.  There was the rock which had fallen onto the children--it was so big and heavy my husband and his brother together couldn’t lift it.  It was a miracle no one was seriously hurt.  We knew God’s angels had hefted that great boulder aside.  There was no other explanation.

Then the kids decided to climb the hill again.  It looked safe and they were determined to go.  After examining the hillside, we as parents felt this was the best thing to do.

After climbing to the top and back our daughter confided, “Best of all I conquered my fear and climbed that same cliff--all the way to the top.”

Later we went back and got that big rock—it rests my brother-in-law’s Garden—a reminder of God’s incredible mercy and grace, and the strength and loving protection of those Rocky Mountain Angels.

For more heart art, photography, and altogether fabulous heart stuff from around the world, visit Clytie at Random Hearts for Guest Heart Thursday!