A Walk Through the Woods

The times that I feel most alive are the times that I challenge myself to do something that is a little on the edge, something that makes my heart beat a little harder, and makes my tongue a little dry.  As I have blogged before, one of those things that I used to do as a teenager was to walk the woods at night.  The long walks through Farmdale were extra special on cold December nights as the streams were half covered by a thin layer of ice and the snow crunched under foot while staring up at the millions and millions of stars from a 100 foot cliff that overlooked the valley.  It was spectacular and wonderful and awe-inspiring while at the same time a little frightening.

Five hundred years ago on a late December night, Martin Luther decided to take a walk through the German woods and experienced the same feelings that I have experienced over and over while walking through the Farmdale woods.  Martin Luther was enthralled with the way the stars shone through the evergreen branches as he made his way through the woods.  He wrote later that night that he felt as if the hand of God had touched his soul and had allowed him to see the world in a special and unique way.  As Luther crested a snow-covered rise, he stopped and took in the scene and all of it's tranquil beauty and soft light and he was filled with a great sense of peace.

Full of inspiration, Martin Luther was determined to duplicate this amazing and beautiful scene that had filled him with such peace and warmth and tranquility.  Attaching candles to the tree's limbs, he wowed his family and friends with the first brightly lit Christmas tree.  From this simple yet beautiful beginning, we have often unknowingly replicated the scene that so inspired Luther by attaching lights to our Christmas trees.

As for me, I love the tradition of putting up the Christmas tree and seeing it's beautiful lights twinkle throughout the season.  However, nothing can compare to seeing the real thing.  Nothing can compare to taking a nice long hike through the woods on a brisk and chilly clear late December night.