Replacing a Dream Ski With a Shoe

a snowshoe

When I was young, I imagined myself cross-country skiing. Growing up in eastern N.C., snow was a rarity, so, looking back, I think my cross-country skiing idea must have been sparked by watching Winter Olympics coverage on TV.

Over the weekend, my childhood fantasy resurfaced, as I made my way up Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, WY. I didn’t tackle the mountain’s slopes with skis. Instead, I wore snowshoes. But, as I walked upward on the pristine, white snow beneath a gorgeous blue sky, I remembered my childhood dream. I even said to another person who was climbing beside me, “When I was young, I thought I wanted to be a
cross-country skier.”

After making the comment, I laughed out loud, but, I admit that a small part of me also felt sad in that moment, realizing that a childhood dream of mine had not been fulfilled at 30+ years out from its inception.

After leaving the mountain, though, my smile returned, because I realized that I had accomplished something that I’d never even dreamt of in snowshoe climbing. My inaugural snowshoe climb on Snow King Mountain was a fantastic, unforgettable experience. I will never forget how it felt and how “the view 
from the top” looked.

I’m sharing a picture that I snapped while on Snow King Mountain looking down at the town of Jackson, WY. I hope the picture and this post will remind you that God sometimes answers our dreams with unimagined, unexpected, yet, equally marvelous realities.

View from atop Snow King Mountain, Jackson, WY