Saving Grace and a Wedding

I do not fully understand God. I know that Jesus paid it all, gave His life as a sacrifice to redeem and set free all people. Yet my heart is breaking for all those who choose not to believe, have been hurt by Christians, and live for themselves. I want to believe that "love wins" and the Lord gives grace to all. I know His heart is breaking so much more than my own. He created and called each individual by name to have a relationship with Him. How can He stand to see any of the children whom He loves go to hell? I do not know the mind and heart of the Lord fully, and although my heart is breaking for all these hikers I am meeting, I trust God, for I know that He is good, even if it doesn't always seem that way to me. These people don't know that God loves them. Part of what makes this so heart wrenching is how aware I have become of God's glory in other people. Even if someone doesn't know the Lord, they are still created in the likeness of God, and they still are the glory of God. They still have many good qualities, and continue to remind me of our Creator and of how much He loves them. Nouwen also noticed this growing awareness of the good in people as a result of solitude (I get a lot of that on the trail, even if I am walking right behind or before Adam. Also, what's one of my blog posts without a quote from Nouwen?!? It would seem incomplete without sharing one of his insights). "I am becoming more and more aware that solitude indeed makes you more sensitive to the good in people and even enables you to bring it to the foreground. No, 'there is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun' but God's glory in you can bring out God's glory in the other when you have become more conscious of this shared gift."

On a much happier note than going to hell, I found out a few days ago that one of my best friends growing up is getting married this October! Woot woot! I am giddy with excitement! Being farther removed from "everyday life" makes these occasions real joys. I have more room in my heart and emotions for her joy now that I'm living on the trail. It has been very beneficial for me to be out here in nature, able to focus on what I feel is important and simplifying my life.