Finding a Needle in a Haystack

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Kicking Horse Ski Resort with a group of Young Adults from First Alliance Church here in Calgary. Overall, the whole weekend was so amazing. Good times, good friends, good fellowship. I got to meet some new people and I got to know others better. Community and snowboarding, both wonderful things that I enjoy.

Now onto an experience that I need to share or would like to. I’m not sure how well you will be able to relate or even identify with the experience I had over this weekend. Not to say that no one has ever found a needle in a haystack, but try to imagine this scenario with me.

It was the last run of the day. If anyone is familiar with Kicking Horse it’s a beautiful gondola ride up to the top, with mountain ranges surrounding and a view of Golden, BC. This day was a beautifully exasperating day, if we can even put those two words together. There were so many great things about this day. The weather to start was just below zero, it might as well have been above zero as some points I'm sure. There had been a decent amount of snow over the past couple of days. The clouds throughout the day had slowly become less and less leaving more of clear sky as the day reached the end. The sun had finally broken through for the last couple hours of lift operation. Now I know the stigma with the last run. The bodies exhausted, the muscles are sore, and the brain is tired. Last runs usually don’t go to well. Well not today because I was stoked and far from tired at all. (Must be the P90X…haha) Adam Kroeker and I decided to take the gondola up and do a run from the top. The ride up was great. The clouds were gone from around us. We could see all the mountains around. I was listening to M83 – We Own the Sky. The hill was looking less populated. It’s going to be a great run down.

Adam and I are at the top, and I remembered that early today the ratchet buckle on the toe was loose. Adam pointed out that they kept tools at the top so we proceeded to walk over to the tools. As I was going to tighten the buckle before we went down, I put my board up on the table and lo and behold the buckle was gone. My heart dropped. Really? Was this really going to happen? Of course! I was beginning to feel like bindings and I don’t go to well together. Last time I went was to Sunshine and the ankle strap fell off while getting into the gondola up the main base from Goat’s Eye. The lifty was kind enough to pick the solo strap and put it in the gondola behind us. This was my board that broke at Sunshine. Now, using Jeff’s board, his buckle broke. Not only did it brake, but I lost it. A white ratchet buckle somewhere on the mountain, this could be fun. I joked with Adam and asked him to keep a look out for the buckle on the way down because who knows where it could’ve have fallen off. So with that I looked around a bit in the snow on the top and on the platform for the buckle with no avail. Then, I got to take the beautiful gondola ride down. Now don’t get me wrong, it was unfortunate that I didn’t get to get my last run in, but if you have any idea what I’m like, things like this don’t bother my at all. I know that my God is bigger than a buckle and He is the director of my paths and my path, was the gondola ride down. I said good-bye to Adam, went over to the lift and knocked on the window and the lifty gave the thumbs up to hop in. I put in my board, proceeded in to the gondola, and away I went. The ride down was just as good as the ride up. Still just as beautiful. However, the ride down gave me some time to contemplate what just happened, to thank God for His guidance in my life, and to relax.

I got down to the bottom, smiled at the lifty, grabbed my board and started to search for others in the group who were at the bottom. My day ended well. I was happy that I had no accidents, the weather was good, I was around wonderful people, and God was with me. So I went to the Day Lodge, found everyone else, and just waited to leave.

Everyone grabbed their bags and headed out to the cars. I had already dropped my board off at the vehicle so I wasn’t in a hurry to leave. I have this tendency to double check rooms after leaving places because I’ve just forgotten so many things and I like to feel secure that nothing was left behind. I’m walking back with Jonathan, just chatting about the day and such thinking nothing of it. We head outside and are walking back in no particular hurry. Then in one moment, my head glances down, and there it is. The white buckle, snugly placed in a vast amount of snow, right below my eyes. Now, while in the gondola, I had this very image of the buckle sitting in the snow. The interesting part was both the images were the same. Some call it Déjà vu, I’ll call that the Spirit. Here it was, the buckle no bigger than an inch that I had asked for, right in front of me. The needle in the haystack.

I doubted God.

I doubted that God could get me this buckle, as I'm sure most of us would. When will we stop doubting God. Why would God do this?

Because He loves us with an everlasting love and because we are His children. We are not mistakes, we are not here by chance, even the hairs on our head are numbered. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

God is here, God is with us, and He wants to show us his love in even the most smallest of ways. Are you listening to the people around you? Are you watching the world around you? Are you being aware of the work that God is doing in your life and in the people around you? People, let's think. Don't let life pass you by.

Don't miss the buckle on the mountain.

I hope your challenged. God bless.