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We spent a few days last week at one of our favorite places: the YMCA of the Rockies near Estes Park, Colorado. If you haven’t been there, “YMCA” doesn’t quite capture what it is. It’s a very large property with lodges and cabins: if all the beds were filled, they could sleep 9,000 people! We were in a 2-bedroom cabin, and one of the pluses is we can take our dog.

Mountain views are extraordinary in every direction, but they’re always there. What’s unpredictable is the wildlife. We were told that the bears were unusually active, but we didn’t see any. Here’s what we did see, every morning, every evening, a gigantic bull elk who liked to eat the grass near the recently built Boone Mountain Center.

Bull elks weigh about 700 pounds and are 5 feet tall at the shoulder (with massive head and antlers, we’re talking about 9 feet tall. “Normally” they leave you alone, which is a good thing since it’s walking within a few yards of children in a playground. Note the little girl perched on top of a rock-like structure, presumably for safety. There’s an anxious mom in the background. I’m standing just a few yards away myself outside our cabin.

It’s not uncommon to see a small herd of them in downtown Estes Park! Last November, as we checked in at the Y there were about 30 of them near the Administration Building. When I approached for a picture, this cow was apparently offended and acted as if she could come after me any second. Fortunately, our car was close. This proves that elk ignore you until they don’t!

We like life to be safe and predictable. Often it’s not. Whether it’s wild animals, traffic(!), or weather, we’re as safe as God wants us to be. Last Saturday, six people were injured in Atlanta when lightning struck at the Tour Championship Golf Tournament.

About 15 years ago, our daughter and son-in-law were teaching near Tel-Aviv, Israel, at a time when there were frequent suicide bombers. When tensions heightened, there was an evacuation, and they flew home to Arkansas. Interestingly, the day they arrived, there was an ice storm in Arkansas, and more people died there than in Israel! There are no guarantees.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (Psalm 23.4, ESV)

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. (Isaiah 43.1, 2, NLT)

Will the wild ox consent to being tamed? Will it spend the night in your stall? Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow? Will it plow a field for you? Given its strength, can you trust it? Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work? Can you rely on it to bring home your grain and deliver it to your threshing floor? (Job 39.9 – 12, NLT–God could have just as easily talked about the elk!)

The voice of the LORD strikes with bolts of lightning. The voice of the LORD makes the barren wilderness quake; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD twists mighty oaks and strips the forests bare. In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!” The LORD rules over the floodwaters. The LORD reigns as king forever. The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace. (Psalm 29.7 – 11, NLT)