I’ve officially reached the age where I don’t know any less than my parents do, when it comes to a lot of things. 

How do I know?

Well, I’ve been asking my parents a lot of “how to” questions lately, such as “How do I monetize my art?” and “How do I get a Biology internship in today’s market?”. Instead of teaching me like they’ve taught me how taxes and voting work, my parents have just shrugged their shoulders and essentially told me, “I don’t know. Figure it out.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” I’ve replied too many times to count. 

“That’s exactly it. I don’t know any more than you do.” both my parents have answered me, verbatim. 

Man, that’s a scary thing to hear from your parents. 

But, it’s true: I’m an adult. This month, I will be older than my parents were when I was born. In university, I’m pursuing a degree literally nobody in my family has pursued before. Even my extended relatives in Seattle who have their fancy masters’ and PhDs’ didn’t get their degrees in anything related to Biology. Yet, here I am, blazing a trail (or, at least, trying to), in order to find success in a field nobody in my family knows more about than I do.

And, that’s absolutely terrifying!

In an attempt to quell my fears, I’ve retreated into the valley many times in an attempt to get away from the city, and find a place where I can listen for God’s gentle, guiding voice. 

Out of Ken Caryl Valley’s 4,800 acres of private open space, the Lyon’s hogback is one of my favorite places to get lost in, so I can have some alone time with the Lord and His creation. If I go during a weekday, the chances of me running into another person on the hogback is about one in ten times. On the weekends, I have about a 50/50 chance of having the hogback all to myself. 

In other words, it’s a perfect place to run to when I just need to get away; when I just need to have a little talk with Jesus.