Friday, October 03, 2008



The simple joys of living in Norway

I (Cortney) just have to say that there are some wonderful joys that I have discovered in this place. They remind me of how living here has allowed me to appreciate even more the beauty of nature and rekindled the desire for a more simplistic, peaceful way of life.

A couple of weeks ago I went on a hike in the forest, which covers an enormous area here in Trondheim, near our house, alone (something people do here without fear all of the time). It was such a precious time for me and I felt God's presence very near.

I feel I am most myself and most at peace when I can immerse myself in nature, far from the sights and sounds of the rest of the world. As I was on my way back, I stopped and happened to look down and to my delight, saw these yellow mushrooms peaking out. I knew that they were great for eating (something I learned from my Norwegian friends) and very expensive in the store, so I filled my pocket and made them for dinner the very next night. A few days later we discovered these berries, called "rips" here (red currant I think in English) and found out that they are great fresh off the bush with sugar and vanilla cream/pudding. Such simple joys but wonderful just the same and gifts from the God of creation. It is things like this that make me feel most fully alive and all it cost me was some time.

Some scenes from my new favorite place I discovered on my hike"In these sanctuary spaces, these Sabbath spaces...I'm giving up the need to arrive at some destination...I'm giving up my need for accomplishment. It's not about what I get done or how I perform. My focus has changed. If I'm lucky, I take this new focus back into the other space." - Terry Hershey (Sacred Necessities)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Cortney, I'm so glad that you were able to get away, and really just connect with the simple things again. I'm sure life gets very busy and overwhelming for you at times. I also wanted to let you know that I prayed for you this morning, that God's spirit would fill you up, and overflow into those around you. Keep going in God's strength.
Tera