When I was getting ready for my first trip through Europe in 2019, I thought, “Hmmm. I’m gonna be living out of a backpack. I’m gonna need a small bible.” So, I made a post on Facebook asking friends and family if they would be willing to give me a small pocket-size bible that I could take on my trip. Multiple people responded, and I ended up with 3 small bibles. My favorite of the three was an electric-blue, leather-bound, NIV bible. I thought it was so cool! It didn’t look like a boring old Bible, you know, brown leather with gold edges, and someone’s name printed on it, but rather, like a small unique blue leather book. So that’s the one I took with me. 

My trip was going to be three months long. The goal of my trip was to improve my German speaking skills, so I was going to start in Italy and then make my way north through Switzerland and eventually end up in Germany where I would spend most of my time. I planned on doing work through Workaway, and living with German families. So, after the first week in Italy with my family, I started to make my way north by myself. My first stop was in the city of Como, Italy.

Discovering the Cedar of Lebanon, Lake Como

This was my first solo trip, so I was exploring the city alone and looking for stuff to do. I asked some of the locals for recommendations, and multiple times I was told to visit Villa d’Olmo. Upon arriving there I learned that it was a palace that belonged to some aristocrats in the 18th century, and they used it as a summer home. The gorgeous yellow and white building towered above the shore of the even more majestic Lake Como, and surrounding the palace were many gardens and lawns where people were running, picnicking, sunbathing, and enjoying themselves. I was enjoying walking around the gardens when I found a map of the grounds. It said that there was a Cedar of Lebanon nearby. That took me by surprise because I thought those trees were extinct. So I thought, “Heck, I’ve gotta see that!”

I had only heard about these trees in the bible. In the Old Testament the Cedars of Lebanon are mentioned quite a bit, and though I grew up hearing the stories about them, I never really understood what they meant. The Cedars of Lebanon are supposed to be these majestic trees that are always referred to as being strong and great of scale. It is said that they were used for ship building and for building palaces. So, how big are these trees? I’d always wanted to know, and finally, here in Italy, I had the chance to see one. So I went for it and after a short walk around the palace I saw the giant tree.

The tree stood alone in a field of neatly cut green grass. No other trees or plants were near it. According to a small sign, the tree was a gift to the owners of the house in the 1800s. The tree was planted to be displayed, and somehow the tree seemed proud to be the center of attention. It was taller than the three story palace, but more than its height it was its girth that was impressive. It was imposing, thick at the trunk and its branches spread and created a broad canopy. The roots sprawled over the ground and held on to it. It looked firm and strong. I approached it slowly, admiring the ancient tree, until eventually I just sat at its base and marveled at its beauty and size. 

Living Under the Shadow of the Almighty 

Before I started the trip, I had given myself the task of memorizing scripture, and by pure chance I was memorizing Psalm 91. The opening line of which says: “They that dwell in the shelter of the Most High will live in the shadow of the Mighty One. (NIV)” It occurred to me then that King David might have been sitting under one of these trees when he wrote that line. What else did people have to compare to back then? The land along the Eastern Mediterranean in general, is very mountainous, but besides the mountains, there wasn’t much else of a large scale besides the trees. No cruise ships on the seashore, no skyscrapers in the cities, no B-747s cutting the sky. I imagine that people, as they traveled north and south and east and west during those days, would look for and seek refuge under the branches of a big tree. Maybe even a Cedar of Lebanon.

Surely, these giants were a comfort to those seeking shelter from a storm or from the cold of night. How long did David run from Saul and his armies through the wilderness? Is it not possible that at least once he laid down to sleep between the roots of one of these trees? I imagine that when he found peace, and he was crowned king, one day on retreat from his kingly duties, David might have been on a stroll through the forest where he saw a Cedar of Lebanon. I imagine that the tree reminded him of those times when he found refuge when he had nowhere else to go. 

I think he might have been drawn to it, and sitting down at the base of the tree, King David started to write “They that dwell in the shelter of the Most High will live in the shadow of the Mighty One.” This excerpt from Psalm 91 rang in my heart that day, and I’ve had a different perspective on this chapter ever since. God is my dwelling place. He is the mighty one. He is the strong one. Imposing, no matter the storm, no matter the time, I can take refuge in him.

My Dream Apartment 

It turns out that, because of that solo trip through Europe in 2019, I was given the opportunity to go and work and live in the Principality of Liechtenstein in 2020. Among the chaos of it all, I moved from Arkansas to a tiny studio apartment on the third floor of an apartment building at the foot of an alpine mountain. My apartment had two windows. One was a small one that looked at my neighbors kitchen, and the other was an apartment-wide window with a door that opened to the balcony. The view from this window looked directly west over the green fields of the Rhein Valley, and on to the ridges of the Swiss Alps. 

The first time I walked into that apartment I was being ushered by the lady in charge of my visa. I was part of a team of three Americans who had been hired to work at Hilti. It was our first day in Liechtenstein and she was showing us our rooms which had been pre-assigned. Before this, and as the move approached I had been praying to God that I could have a good room. Seasonal depression is no joke, and it was 2020. I wanted to be ready to spend lots of time alone. I had prayed that I would have a room where I could sing, where I could dance, and where I could get some sun. In all my prayers, there was nothing that I could have imagined that even compared to the gift that God had prepared for me.

As soon as we walked in, we were bathed in light. It was the golden hour of a gorgeous August evening. The sun was nestled in between the peaks across the valley and the sunbeams were piercing through the clouds like a Renaissance painting and making their way straight into my room. 

“Raul, this is your room,” she said. 

My room? What a room! What a view! Every day for a whole year I got to look out of this window and be bathed by this truly awesome view.

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Well, along with all my belongings I also brought that little blue bible. The scripture that I was memorizing at the time was John chapter 1, but as with any balanced meal for the body, one should also balance the meals of the soul. I went back and forth between the Old and New Testaments as I fancied, but the words from Psalm 19 always stood out. It says:

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;

    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

2 Day after day they pour forth speech;

    night after night they reveal knowledge.

3 They have no speech, they use no words;

    no sound is heard from them.

4 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,

    their words to the ends of the world.(NIV)

When I would read or hear about the Cedars of Lebanon growing up, it didn’t make any sense. It was also like that with these verses from Psalm 19. It had never really made sense to me for most of my life. Maybe I just didn’t appreciate it when I was younger, or maybe I didn’t linger in the weight of these words long enough to let them have such an effect on me. I had known natural beauty before in the beaches of west Mexico, or camping under a starry autumn night in Arkansas. I had seen tall mountains before in Colorado, and have been near mountains in Mexico and in the US, but I had never had the chance to live among them. Somehow this Lichtensteinian landscape was more spectacular, and I was gripped by beauty like I have never been before. 

For that whole year I never closed the blinds to my balcony window. Every day I woke up looking at the mountains. Every day I got to see their east faces painted in pink and red and orange and green and gray and white and purple and navy blue. Every day I got to see them being rained on, snowed on, climbed by cars and cyclists and herdsmen with their cows. Every day I got to watch these mountains reach to the sky, as if they had their hands stretched out to the heavens. They were somehow always happy. They seemed so glad to be where they were. They didn’t do anything. They were just there. They didn’t move, they didn’t sing, they didn’t talk. Yet, their beauty was relentless. Their voices were loud and clear. “Look!”, they said. “Look at this and marvel!” 

Gripped by Beauty 

Reading Psalm 19 like this, every day sitting on my balcony and looking at the mountains led me to see that beauty is like a force, and when it grips us it is simply inescapable. It points at something. It says “Look! There is something here. Look and marvel! Who created all of this? No man or woman could. Only God! Our creator! Look and marvel!” The mountains don’t shout. They don’t use any sound. There is no speech, there are no words. “Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” 

It’s hard to explain beauty to someone else using only words. Sometimes you just have to go see it to understand it. It is not necessary to speak English to understand beauty, and it is not necessary to speak any words to be struck by awe. Beauty always seems to bring along with it a sort of sense of insufficiency for its viewers. When we are gripped by beauty we wonder “How is this possible?” This kind of wonder is a good thing. It makes us ask questions. It makes us seek out this beauty more. 

My Tiny Traveling Blue Bible

7 years later I continue to have this little bible. The pages where Psalm 91 and Psalm 19 are, as well as John 1, John 15, and Ephesians 1 are found, have stains on the edge of the page where I leaf through the bible to find them. Every time I open the scriptures to read them again I am transported back to these moments that I shared with you. In those stories the Word became real to me. 

Having a bible brings clarity. Having scripture to look at is so important. It’s not the bible itself, but rather that the bible points me to Jesus, it points me to my God, the living God, who wants to talk to me. Scripture reveals who my God is no matter where I am. That revelation can happen anywhere. This little blue bible now sits on my nightstand and I read it every night. It’s not necessary to travel the world in order for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. He speaks through the ordinary and through the extraordinary. He speaks through the trees and through the water and through the mountains and through all the many beautiful things in this great world that we live in. 

This little blue bible has come with me in many other adventures, but these are two that really filled my heart with joy. One revelation happened in a brief moment, the other happened over a whole year. When I hold this little blue bible I remember these moments. It’s so fun to hold because it makes me think of adventure. It makes me think of my next trip. But also, it makes me excited because of the truth that is revealed when I see the words come alive in the world around me. My bible may be small enough to fit in my backpack, but God is not small. He is greater than the greatest trees and bigger than the biggest mountains. I’m excited for all the many other adventures that I will go with my tiny traveling blue bible.

The Big and Beautiful World

I’m on the plane back to DFW from Iceland. Man, what a trip. I’m staring out the window. The sky with the United States farm landscape below and then a million million nimbus clouds dotting the sky. The sun is bright. The sky is blue. It’s perfect. So, I’m reflecting on Iceland. How much treasure one can find there. And the U.S.A. has so much. And Mexico has so much. It just doesn’t end. How much beauty! So many riches for us! How much good from God! How much joy can come from lingering in the beauty He has made! God made the earth with treasure for us and it’s never ending. I believe that God made the world big and beautiful, and for us to go see it so that we can know him more. 

I hope this story is encouraging to you. If you know somebody that you think this might be encouraging to as well, go ahead and share it with them!