I left my house in the dark and go back in the dark.

It was the longest, tiring day but it went by so fast- it was so much fun, every moment. Even the ridiculous hike back up the Waipio Road. Wow. Tiring.

But, oh, it was all so beautiful.

I fulfilled something I’ve always wanted to do. . . just hike up a river to its source (in this case, a giant cliff with a waterfall). With a combination of trailblazing, rock-hopping, and wading, we made it. We followed many a trail, wandered through forest and rocks and water with the destination looming over us through the trees. The waterfall.

Not much water was falling, but it was gorgeous none the less. Mist falling, raining down on a azure pool.

I thanked God for making such a beautiful, beautiful place for us to explore and just the fact that we had such an epic adventure with hilarious bonding time. It’s days like those that I am so glad I live in Hawaii.

Waipio Valley has had a dark spiritual history and you can feel the oppression in its isolation. But God’s spirit is also in his majestic creation. And that trip gave me a pleasant memory of the place.

I’m also happy just that I am actually thankful. I am so scared to be immune to the beauty around me. To become accustomed to blessing is dangerous and sad. I want to be the little girl excited about everything. Awestruck at the simplest of things.

And being in the wilderness for seven plus hours made me so thankful for my bed and even electricity. Haha. He’s so good.

“The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.”

-Psalm 19:1-2

I would say the same about this valley.