Black Balsam Road

I don’t know about you, but “coming attractions” often generates more excitement than the actual event. While going over some images of past forays into the Blue Ridge, I came across some like this that I overlooked at the time. This process helps me to set my mind to the places I would love to set the camera in front of… again. This is from 2015. I spent a good two weeks putting in the footwork necessary to get ‘the shot’ but the morning weather rarely provided what I was hoping for… just open blue skies with no clouds to reflect the dramatic color phases of a rising sun. Sometimes, however…

Have you ever had folks to tell you that it’s just another sunrise? I have, and I believe they’re missing the miracle of it. I arrived at this spot while it was still quite dark, not too particularly thrilled with the evident coming “blue” day, but prepared to take it on nonetheless. Yet, there was just enough humidity in the air to make things interesting. One of the reasons for light is to expose what lays in the dark… I watched as the sky became brighter with the rising sun and the mountains and clouds like billowing seas covering the valleys began to take shape. The first golden touch of sunlight fired up the autumn palette of mountain ridges and muted the open horizon like a delicate watercolor painting. It added depth, contrast, and definition to turn these oh so familiar mountains into an ever-changing wonderland… and did so much to reset my attitude for that day and the days ahead.

The “coming attraction” for many in this region of the world is the promise of autumn here in these mountains to showcase what the light exposes… that palette is a marvel, but so is the brilliance that highlights it.

Ephesians 5:13, “But everything exposed by the light becomes visible – and everything that is illuminated becomes light.” That’s yet another coming attraction for an event that I guarantee will not let you down. The recent death of a dear friend whose memorial we attended Saturday brings this to the forefront... he loved these mountains as much as I do.