Do you like to swim in mountain streams? Then you’re either under the age of twenty or crazy. As a teenager, I thought nothing of jumping off rock ledges into Smoky Mountains streams. Now there’s a double case of crazy for you. What was I thinking? If the jump knocked me senseless, the ice cold water would slap the breath back in me? Yeah, makes perfect teenage sense.
But not anymore. Recently I stuck my toes into this Smoky Mountains stream and instantly got a brain freeze. I’m talking subzero cold shooting up my body and spewing out the top of my head. When I unthawed and recovered enough to think again, I couldn’t believe I once swam in that super-cooled liquid. Did I have less nerve endings back then? I certainly had less insulation, if you know what I mean. What I’m trying to say is no vital part of my body is ever going under that water again unless the last piece of chocolate on this earth is wrapped securely in an airtight container and sitting on the bottom of the creek. Nowadays, I have a little more sense . . . unless it’s chocolate.
And I still enjoy finding a nice secluded spot like this one, eating a picnic lunch, and letting nature’s beauty put a smile on my face. The soft sound of slowing-moving water is the perfect recipe for peace and contentment. Psalm 23 says it best. “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” In today’s crazy world, those are comforting words.
Now it’s your turn to share. What’s your favorite peaceful place?