A Favorite Sport

As a high school teenager, back in my day, our church youth had the wonderful opportunity to take a bus from St. Louis to Winterpark, CO each spring break for a week filled with skiing and fun!  The first year I went, I was terrified, and unskilled and slightly discouraged because I kept falling down, on flat ground, the first few minutes of being there. I wondered how I was ever going to get through the week.  But I was encouraged to sign up for a half day of lessons and so I did.  And this made all the difference. After that, there was no stopping me.  And my the end of the week of my first time there, I was skiing MaryJane.  Which was a big goal to have when you are at Winterpark.

After those years of high school skiing, I never did it again.  And 12 years ago, upon moving to Arizona, I never really expected to ski.  After all, we had moved to the Land of the Sun, a desert, which could reach the triple teen digits in the summer!  But, I learned the Arizona landscape and it is not all desert. There are mountains and beautiful green areas, and TWO ski resorts.  And our family learned to love skiing/snowboarding all over again.
The past few years we have not made it out to the slopes as a family  but it seems each year the boys have had an opportunity or two to go with friends. Last year's spring break Brandon was blessed with an invitation to none other than Winterpark, CO himself, and he snowboarded MaryJane, just as I instructed him to do.  This year, with lots of extra moisture, the slopes were open closer to home with good powder, and Brandon tagged along with his friend Ryan to Sunrise, AZ for a day of snowboarding this past spring break. Chris took his skills to the slopes in Utah. Cameron, too, spent the prior winter in Utah for four days of fun! They have been blessed with friends that invite them.  As a family we have enjoyed Big Bear, CA as it is a short drive from my sister's house and she kindly lets us use her house as our hotel.
Though those youth trips to Colorado came to an end, my love for the sport did not as it brought with it a love of  the mountains, the beauty of God's creations, and an opportunity for me to develop my own personal testimony as I experienced things about life away from my family's testimonies and had to stand on my own two feet. And learn to stand I did!