I woke up later than I had planned so I began the day a little bit disappointed with myself.  As it turned out, it didn’t really make that much difference and actually was just as well that I didn’t start the day earlier.  Later, as I did some hiking, I thought about the trouble I find myself in mentally when I can’t meet expectations that others put on me or that I put on myself.  As those thoughts rolled through my mind, I began to consider what God expects from me and whether my view of His expectations are the same as His view.  As I worshiped God, my mind kept reflecting on the passage from Micah that says God requires that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.  Obviously, those three things entail a lot, but perhaps not as much as I sometimes think.

My plan was to get to Cades Cove as the sun was coming up over the mountains but my late wake-up time meant that wasn’t going to happen.  Instead, I made it to the park entrance by 10 AM only to discover the road in either direction in the park was closed!   I did some wandering at the entrance intersection and took some pictures while hoping the road would soon open.  After about an hour and a half of alternating between taking pictures and warming up in the truck, I decided if the road wasn’t going to open I would just hike in to Cades Cove!  It was on this hike that it dawned on me that waking up earlier wouldn’t have helped anything.  I reached the 5 mile mark about two hours into the hike as I was taking a leisurely pace with a lot of stops for pictures.  As I was calculating the time in and how long it would take me to get back to the truck, a steady stream of traffic made its way past me on on to Cades Cove — the road was now open!  The 5 mile hike back to the truck made better time as I didn’t stop to take many pictures.  One of the fun parts of the story, if you read yesterday’s post, is that once back to the truck I had sliced turkey and Propel fitness water waiting for me — the turkey I hadn’t planned on buying. 🙂

Part of my intent in heading into Cades Cove was to visit a memorial of sorts.  Last month I read an article about a family that was living in Cades Cove at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The writer of the article was interviewing a man that grew up there and said his dad had a metal plate engraved and fastened around a tree that he transplanted on December 7, 1941.  The directions in the article were vague but understandable, so I made my way to the area described and found the tree and attached tag.  The man putting it there understood that the events of that day would change many things about life as he knew it.  Even though the family would eventually have to leave their property, the reminder remains.  As I thought about the great sacrifice of so many that ensued following that single day in history, I was reminded of the importance of remembering the cost of the freedom we have.  

I’m not able to do much editing to these photos today, but here is the front and back of this tag.  I’m sure the chain it hangs on has been lengthened numerous times in the years since it was put around this tree.