God’s Ultimate Destiny

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus return [Philippians 1:6].

QUOTE: There are no wrong turnings. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk (Guy Gavriel Kay).

Before we jump into this ski run, let’s talk a bit about destiny and what it means based on biblical principles. God’s ultimate “destiny” for each of have an intimate personal relationship with Him here on earth and we also spend eternity with Him. If we take a look at experiences in each of our lives, we may see God’s hand has always been directing, guiding, and drawing us near him. At the time of the story, I’m about to tell you, I was not a believer and didn’t even know what having a relationship with God was about. All I knew about or cared about at this point in my life was skiing, guys, and skiing!! Did I say skiing?!! 😊

Come on, join me on a little adventure… because oh, my goodness this was the most amazing ski day ever!!!

It was another one of those beautiful perfect blue-sky Colorado days with over three to four feet of fresh powder. I had booked a snow cat tour with a group of ten male ski buddies from Berthoud pass. We were excited to be skiing in an area above the little mountain town of Montezuma which is near Keystone, Colorado.

Present in this group was our guide and owner of the company who I’ll call J. He and he had invited one other friend who I’ll call JJ and then ten of my friends. Everyone was highly advanced skiers and the terrain we were about to ski was extreme backcountry terrain. We did a brief safety talk, checked our avalanche transceivers and confirmed we all had the required gear, and all was working. We then boarded the snow cat to our adventure.

We stopped for lunch after a morning of the best skiing ever. Everyone was laughing, excited, and ready to get back out for more. While at lunch I suggested that we do a quick avalanche beacon test and practice. No one was interested in doing this, they wanted to eat and get back to skiing. I tried to persuade them, but I was overruled by intensified testosterone!

We looked at the map and the mountain and J said, “I want to do that run,” as he pointed at the slide path right above the small mountain town. “I’ve looked at that run for years and today is the perfect day to try it.” However, he said, “We need to take extra precaution to ensure everyone’s safety. We will ski one at a time, stay to the right at all times while skiing, then go to the left in the trees for our safety zone.” We all agreed and loaded up into the snow cat and ascended the mountain.

When we got to the edge of the couloir [a steep, narrow gully on a mountainside] that we were going to ski, my best friend Steve and I looked at each other and said, “oh my goodness this looks so awesome.” But for some reason we did not really have a good feeling. There was something inside both of us that was telling us not to ski this. But the guide encouraged everyone and again repeated, “make sure you ski to the right and everything will be fine.” So, reluctantly, we agreed to go ahead and ski it.

At the time I was known as a “powder babe” [actually another b word], so true to my reputation, I jumped in first whooping and hollering! It was the most amazing ski EVER, hands down, the best run I’ve ever had in my life even to this day. I positioned myself in the trees skiers left as each of my friends skied down with the same exhilaration and excitement. We were hugging each other and full of snow from head to toe, because it was so stinking deep, well over six feet of fresh, light, fluffy snow!! Then the last skier down was JJ and he was ripping it up, when for some reason he skied directly to the far left. I still remember to this day yelling at the top of my lungs (over and over again), “ski right, ski right, ski right,” when all of the sudden the entire mountain broke loose. I kept yelling, “ski right, ski right, ski right!”

We were in the path of the biggest avalanche I’d ever seen, and it was coming right for us. When an avalanche is breaking loose it is the loudest, scariest thing you will ever see. We backed up into the trees as far as we could, and held tightly onto one another. This was not typical avalanche protocol; we should have scattered, but it all happened so quickly, and we were stuck to one another when the roaring snow and trees came crashing around us.

Then there was total silence…total deafening silence.

We finally opened our eyes, dug ourselves out, and counted the group. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11…my goodness we were missing JJ. We evaluated the scene, got our transceivers out and all you could hear was – NOTHING… there was not a signal or sound anywhere. When you use an avalanche transceiver in search mode you should hear a signal when you are near the transmitting beacon (the person buried). We searched exhaustively for over four hours and there continued to be nothing but silence. The search and rescue team that had joined us finally called it off for the night due to darkness and possible further avalanche danger.

The next morning, after avalanche control work was done and it was finally deemed safe to go back in, we continued the search, and an avalanche dog was also brought on scene. After another four hours JJ’s body was eventually found by the dog under fourteen feet of snow. We all helped dig him out and then discovered the reason for the silence and no signal. Unfortunately, his transceiver was turned off. We believe for some reason he turned this off when we had stopped for lunch, and I was immediately sorry I had not been more persistent in pushing us to test our transceivers.

For the eleven us left, we just experienced something tragic that would change our lives forever. Whenever something like this happens, each person reacts differently and is changed in different ways.

God’s Ultimate Destiny: Anyone of us could have been the one caught in that massive slide. But I believe God had a bigger plan for my life than just being a ski bum and a fanatic of men!! He was NOT done with me yet and I had a few more mountains to climb and a few more avalanches of life to endure.  At that time, I did not realize that God had his hand on me, and that my life was spared for a purpose.

That experience changed my life and something that has even deeper meaning for me now than when it occurred. As I look back on that event and all other experiences in my life, all I can say is without a doubt I was certainly saved ONLY because God loved me before I even knew Him.

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DAILY ACTION STEP
Say to yourself out loud
I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM
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FRIENDLY REMINDER: Take out your journal and write down your thoughts, takeaways, and progress for this week!

TAKEAWAY GEMS

• Gods’ ultimate destiny is that every one of us will come to know Him.
• It is the Lord who loves us even when we were not even thinking about Him.
• Thank you, Lord, again for second chances.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ON

1. Can you think of a time when the Lord spared your life or helped you out of a situation that was life-altering?
2. How has that impacted you?
3. Do you see God’s hand on your life before and after you knew Him?

ACTION STEP: TURN LIFE ALTERING SITUATION INTO A POSITIVE LIFE CHANGE: Take a look at a moment in your life that has changed you dramatically. Use this incident and make a step towards something that will shift your entire life direction in a positive and meaningful way. For example, after the incident that I shared above; I obtained my dog Angel who became a search and rescue dog, and I became one of the only women avalanche forecasters in the world.

DAILY SCRIPTURES

DAY 1: I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. [Job 42:2]

DAY 2: But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. [John 4:14] 

DAY 3: And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus return [Philippians 1:6].

DAY 4: We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. [Proverbs 16:9] 

DAY 5: What joy for those you choose to bring near, those who live in your holy courts. What festivities await us inside your holy Temple. [Psalm 65:4] 

DAY 6: The Lord will work out his plans for my life for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me. [Psalm 138:8] 

DAY 7: And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory. [Romans 8:30]