Silent Presence - Eastern Guatemala

Darkness brought shadows, thick enough to cover the winding mountains which surrounded me on all sides. They became one with the sky and it's blackness, but even as they faded, I could hear them whisper. The stars scattered themselves like a thousand shards of crystal, and the lights from other distant villages shone as if stars themselves amidst the ground. The silver moon brought gleams of gray light onto the canopy of the jungle trees, it's brightness fighting with the encompassing thickness of the dark, it crept in between the cracks allowing the outlines of the forest to be seen. It was still. I could hardly breathe, my eyes fixed upon the intense beauty all around. Silence. The stifling fear which had plagued my heart only hours before was washed away by the awe and wonder of that moment. Nothing else mattered. I could have lost my life that day, and yet I had never felt life so intensely. I was at peace. The new coolness of the night breeze made my skin tingle. I grasped for words to utter to God, some profound response of gratitude to offer. Nothing came. I felt him. So close. I opened my lips to speak, but I could only whisper. "Thank you God..." So simple. So insufficient. Yet as soon as I had spoken, I felt him even stronger. Love. Peace. So tangible. I had so many things I wanted to say, so many questions to ask, yet all I could do was stand, in silence.