Hidden Valley

After two gloomy days of cold and rain Gene and I woke to the warm sun pouring in our windows. Armed with our camera, binoculars, books and journals we eagerly jumped into the rhino. Our destination was the secret valley we had discovered the night before. We tuned off the engine just before we reached the crest of the hill. The morning was silent except for the gentle cooing of the turtle doves and the occasional cat call of a bird. Suddenly we heard a series of shrill barks off to our right. We peered up at the towering mountains, part of the Baviaanskloof. Up on the ridge were several baboons giving a warning call to all the other creatures, announcing our presence. Baviaanskloof literally means “baboon gorge” but this was the first we really knew there were baboons on our farm.



From there we decided to go on foot. We turned left, to a less intimidating mountain, where Danny thought the hartebeest were hanging out. Walking no more than 100 yards, we heard thundering hoofs. A massive three curl kudu suddenly broke out of the brush. We smiled at one another, sensing that this was going to be a fruitful day. We were not disappointed! It was a struggle to get to the top of the mountain; but once there it leveled off and was a fairly easy walk. The view was magnificent; we could see mountains spread out in seeming infinity across the horizon. We spotted a lone young male Hartebeest who ambled off in the distance. Following him, we walked into a group of 30-35 more kudu. They just stood there for several minutes eyeing us with interest. As we continued along the top of the plateau, we were rewarded by a herd of ten magnificent red hartebeest. It was a day of wonder!



Exhausted from the hike, we found a sunny spot sheltered from the wind and pulled out our books and journals. There God showed me Matt. 18:3 “unless you become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children see the world on a different level than adults. Far more trusting, children are open to mystery; they live life to its fullness, wide-eyed with astonishment, enthusiastic about everyday things. God wants us to recapture a child-like approach to the Father so we can experience a kingdom life. He wants us to have that sense of wonder. There are dozens of verses in the bible that portray a people who are amazed, astonished and who marveled at the awesome ways of God. David was one of them. Every thing about God was marvelous, to high wondrous, phenomenal and sensational. God wants to restore that sense of wonder to each one of us.