The Appalachian Mountains are also known as the Smoky Mountains. They get this name from the columns of mist or fog that rise from the mountains like smoke. The calm of the morning is the best time to see this phenomenon as the sun creeps over the mountain and highlights the mist. The mist or fog originates among the trees. As the trees breathe, they give off oxygen and other compounds that create these columns of mist rising lazily toward the sky. Early settlers to the area likened these columns to columns of smoke and the term the Smokey Mountains was born.
The terms foggy and misty are also rooted in our powers of observation. Generally, fog obscures our vision, making it hard to see what is behind it. Sometimes the fog is so thick we can barely see through it. Hiking a mountain path can be treacherous, unable to see the dangers that lie just out of view. I remember driving in a fog so thick I had to straddle the white line along the edge of the highway just to see where to go, afraid to drive over 10 miles an hour but also afraid to stop for fear of someone hitting me. We also refer to ourselves as “being in a fog” when our minds are groggy and out of focus.
Mist and misty often refer to the light, airy form of fog. Mist is the phenomenon of small droplets of water hanging in the air, or slowly falling, causing everything to be damp. I think this is where the term “Misty eyed” comes from, when there is the look of tears in our eyes or when we reminisce, and our eyes seem distant.
The misty mornings in the mountains can bring a sense of melancholy as I watch the “smoke” rise from the mountainside or look down on the valley fog below. It seems so peaceful, and yet mornings often bring a fogginess to my brain. My mind seems to have trouble focusing, and my spirit seems to hover low, like the fog in the valley. I’m unsure of myself as the day begins and I wonder if I will be able to face another day. The coffee provides a warm embrace as I wait for the sun to climb into the sky and for the fog to lazily drift up and away like the “smoke” in the mountains; and as the fog lifts, my spirit begins to rise as well. The fog in my mind slowly ebbs and I reflect on all the goodness that God has provided. His love pushes out the doubts, the fears, the seemingly ever-present feelings of failure that so many Veterans feel every day. His love gives me peace, His love gives me hope, His love gives me strength, His love gives me life.
Does His love give you peace? Or do the horrors of war, echoing through the fog in your mind keep you restless and uneasy? Are you unsure which way to turn as you walk the fog-shrouded path of life, unsure of which way leads to peace and which way hides the pain of the past? Peace Mountain Ranch is a place that can help quiet the echoes of the past and help dispel the fog like a warm, gentle breeze. Here, in the peace of the mountains, a Warrior can find rest. A Warrior can find a place worthy of laying down the burdens accumulated in battle. A place that can help clear the fog away, showing a path that leads to hope, to healing, and to peace. Come and learn to enjoy the morning again.
