Investing Your Soul
Author: Ted Soto, VP Investing/Stewardship Development
“I lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help” (Psalm 121). In the past 9 days, I’ve spent time in 3 mountain ranges and I find myself renewed, refreshed and strengthened. My wife and I began a week of vacation with a stop in my hometown of Goshen, NY to make a scholarship presentation. Named after Goshen in Genesis 45:10, and at the foot of the Catskill mountains, it’s a quintessential New England town** of 6,000 people. My home church is the center of the town – a gorgeous 1887 stone building with horseshoe-shaped balcony, exquisite Tiffany stained glass windows and a 186 foot bell tower that can be seen from High Point State Park in New Jersey, some 46 miles away.
During its construction, some members left the church, because of the size of the bell tower, fearing that we were building a “temple of Babel” which God would smite. There’s something transforming and restorative about being home – it’s the people, the memories, my church and the mountains. Thousands and thousands of years before man ever walked the earth, these beautiful mountains reached toward the heavens in praise to God who created them.
We then spent a couple days at Lake George in the Adirondacks. The mountains were formed about 1 billion years ago; the lake about 11,000 years ago from melting glaciers. Fed by springs and streams of melting snows, the crystal clear (but cold) water eventually drains into the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic Ocean. Except for the areas within a mile of the lake, there’s been almost no development, so the mountains are covered with lush, uninterrupted forests. Shadows from passing clouds slither from peak to peak turning them from light to Kelly green and back again. The peacefulness of the area immediately reduces your blood pressure as you simply gaze at the pristine lake and unscathed mountains. The tranquility quietly whispers “be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 ), so I did – again and again.
Back at work yesterday, I traveled through the Shenandoah National Forest to a meeting with the good folks of McGaheysville UMC, just past Massanutten. If you’ve never been to this natural wonder, you’ve cheated yourself! Simply driving through the 18 miles of twisting, turning highway causes you to want to stop dozens of times to take in the breathtaking views of forests, streams and the spectacular valleys below. Virginia and the National Park Service have done a marvelous job of preserving and maintaining this and other fabulous works of nature. Get out and see them! And don’t rush. Allow yourself the time to take them in and be enveloped in their beauty and serenity. Experience the beauty of the earth and skies, trees and flowers, sun and moon and stars of light. Yes, Lord of all, to thee we raise, this our hymn of grateful praise.
This article has nothing to do with investing your money; it’s all about investing your soul!
