A Love Encounter with God

In my last post I mentioned that I had more God encounters while vacationing in Colorado. This is the continuation of that story. (Find the first part here.)

One night, while in Vail, CO, I was crying anxious, ugly tears in bed. I was terrified of what might happen to Kevin in a couple of days. He was planning a 14,000 foot mountain hike near Aspen, CO, whose nickname is “The Deadly Bell.” I was a young mom with three little kids and the thought of him dying on that mountain paralyzed me. I was wracked with fear.

As I laid there in bed next to Kevin, my core started to ache. It was a pain I had never felt before. I was immediately drawn to Kevin in the most platonic way and the only way I could relieve this ache was to wrap my whole body around him and just hold him. (Kevin, amazingly, was sound asleep and remained asleep through this whole experience.)

As I rested my head on his arm, I heard in my spirit very clearly, “Emily, I love Kevin more than you ever could. I am letting you experience just a small glimpse of how much I love Kevin. I will take care of him on his hike.”

I knew immediately I heard the voice of God and you would think that hearing the God of the heavens tell me how much He loves Kevin, that He would take care of him on the hike, would have been enough. It was not.

I am so thankful that I have a relationship with a tender, patient God who loves me, because out of my anxiousness I began to talk to God through my tears. I said, “God, please guide his steps on this hike. Please make sure he has sure footing and that his feet will not slip out from under him.” The Lord then reminded me that He loves him more than I ever will be able to and that He will take care of him. 

That ache in my core left and I released Kevin from my grip, but I still needed to feel his body against mine. As I laid there trying to process what had just happened, I realized that my body was incredibly hot. I wondered if this is what the presence of the Lord feels like, as that feeling was completely new to me. It was amazingly wonderful and soothing. I fell asleep with the warmth of the Lord enveloping me like a blanket.

God Answered My Prayer

After Kevin’s hike was over and he reached the bottom of the mountain he called me. I was so excited to get his call. As I answered the phone I rejoiced in my spirit knowing that the Lord had taken care of him.

Kevin began to fill me in on the details of his hike and how he had made it to the top by himself because the others needed to turn around. He said that they slept in their car at the base of the mountain and that it had snowed overnight (which is not unheard of in August). When they left at sunrise no one else was there in the parking lot with them.

He also mentioned that the trail was really easy to find this time. (Fourteeners do not usually have a marked trail and can be tricky to find if the rocks of cairns are not there.) What surprised him most was that he followed someone’s footprints in the snow all the way to the top but he did not know who they belonged to as he was all alone on the trail and at the peak.

I began to weep as I listened to him finish his story because I knew those footprints in the snow were my gift from God. He guided EVERY step that he took to ensure his safety.

Through my tears, I began to tell Kevin about what had happened to me a few nights back and how the snow and the footprints were an answer to my prayers for him.

As I hung up the phone all I could do was get on my knees and thank God for answering my prayer. I was in awe! The God of the heavens had met me in my desperate emotional mess and I was beyond thankful.

This was the first of many times I encountered God, who is LOVE (1 John 4:8). Each time it has radically altered how I see Him, experience Him, praise Him, and serve Him.

God is so creative and He knows exactly what we need. He was so patient with me as I made my requests for Him to take care of Kevin, even though He had told me that He would.

I get to be me and God honors that! I mean hey, He made me, right?!

I am thankful my relationship with the Lord is getting stronger and more intimate with every passing day.

I pray this story brings you hope to know that the God of the Heavens interacts with us. He loves us more than we can comprehend or even imagine and He longs to share His thoughts with us.

How has God answered your prayers? Have you had a God encounter that revealed part of His character to you? I would love to hear from you. You can leave a reply below or reach out through my CONTACT page.