Into The Wild Ministries: Rugged Majesty

Last Sunday afternoon we went with Connie and Thane to Farragut State Park where they launched their boat among the many people that were enjoying the great varied facilities the park offers. There were picnics, campers, swimmers, mountain bikers, and boaters spending a leisure day relaxing. During WWII, Farragut was a busy naval training camp for tens of thousands of sailors. I knew a few of them personally so the park holds a special interest for me. They would have rather visited it as a park but never regretted the job they were called to do for us.

I had never been on the south half of Lake Pend Orielle and was captivated by the rugged beauty of the mountains that plunge straight down into the clear depths of the lake. God created spectacular granite rocks that perch hundreds of feet above the lake and descend deep into the clear water. Many times when we were only fifty feet of shore the depth finder measured well over one hundred feet of water below us. One time it measured seven hundred eighty eight feet which is not the deepest part of the lake. Every bend in the shoreline had something great to offer. We stopped one a beach that was all flat skipping stone rocks. The little boy came out in me as I tried to skip each rock a little farther before it disappeared into the depths of the lake. I pictured Jesus and the disciples doing the same thing on the shores of Galilee with Peter boasting he could beat all of them.

As we made our way up the east side many old mining sites are still visible and remnants of some communities remain. Huge ponderosa pines line the shoreline like guardians of the lake. There were several dead twisted junipers that got my attention as I could see neat pieces of driftwood in them to carve fish on. Next time I will have to take a saw. On our return trip back to the boat launch we saw a family of eagles that were learning to test their wings with an adult watching nearby.

Some people would say Lake Pend Orielle was formed by accident due to some natural disaster but I believe God purposely made it for our enjoyment. I think he sat back and smiled. God made it one of the deepest fresh water lakes in the world so it would give the valleys to the south and west an abundant supply of water for crops and cities. Do you think he knew Spokane would develop into a big city someday and need a fresh supply of water? I believe he did just as he knows about our life before we are born.