While in Virginia last weekend, we decided to take an afternoon off to go for a little hike in the Shenandoah mountains. We only had two hours, so we figured we would go as far as we could.

It hadn’t rained in a while, so we crossed several dry creek beds. Then we came to a big bridge that crossed the main creek. “Look, there is water!” someone said. We all stopped to look at the water.

A little further down the trail, we saw a small, tumbling waterfall. It looked very pretty. We stopped to take pictures.

Further up there was a bigger waterfall. This one was several feet high. We had to stop to take more pictures. After all, it was much better than the first one!

As we progressed up the valley, the waterfalls became more and more significant until we reached a very spectacular sight. You could hear it before you could see it. An 80 foot waterfall cascaded picturesquely down the side of the mountain ahead of us. Everyone had their camera’s out now!

From hiking that very same trail several years ago, I remember that first truly big waterfall was exactly that: the first. They only got bigger and grander the higher you climbed.

On the way back, we passed up the Better Waterfall, the Pretty Waterfall, and the Place of Water. It was hard to believe that we thought those places were very neat earlier. But that is when the writings of old Isaiah echoed clearly back: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him” (Isaiah 64:4).

It’s important to stop and enjoy the blessings that are around you; but don’t stay there. Get up, press forward, climb the next mountain. God’s got a bigger waterfall of blessing down the trail.