Happy Birthday Dad!!

So I am sneaking onto Dad's blog just fifteen minutes before his big day: Arthur Wayne Sudan is turning 54!!! In honor of his birthday my siblings and I (due to our involvement in the blog world) are each writing a post to our dad for the world to see. So from here on out this blog is to you, dad...





Some of my favorite memories come from our family hiking trips through the years, which in part is why I am so excited about the Cascades! However, when I think about particular hiking trips one stands out among the others-- the summer after my senior year of highschool when you and I went on a hike by ourselves in Estes Park, Colorado. I don't even know if you will remember this particular part of the hike, but it has always stood out significantly to me...





When we were half way up the mountain we started to see snow on the ground (it was June in Colorado..to be expected) and as we increased in elevation, naturally the snow began to get deeper and cover the ground. I was trying so hard that hike to be tough and rough out whatever conditions came so that you would be so proud of me. I was never one of the better hikers of the family. But at this point in the hike my history of altitude sickness caught up with me and I started to feel sick and a little weak, but I didn't want to show it. The ground floor was completely covered with snow as we progressed on the trail and it was getting waist deep. You had been on this trail several years before and chose it for us because you remembered the breathe-taking lake and view that was the bowl of the mountain. When the snow was getting waist deep you knew that we were so close to the top it wouldnt make sense for us to turn around, so we pushed through. And it is at this point where my memory stands:





You didn't want me to step into a creek or anything that would permit me to fall through the snow, so you found a small enough boulder for me to sit on as you navigated the path to our final destination. And it was from that boulder that God spoke so tenderly to me. He said "Mary Beth, look at your father. This is who I am to you." (I am not sure if that was the first time I heard God, but it was definately one of the first times.) I looked at you, dad, and I saw you moving slowly from the boulder through the trees, further into the distance without ever losing sight of me. And once you had the path laid out you walked back to me, stepping into the same holes you had made so that you could be with me and guide me while I literally stepped in your footsteps so that I wouldn't stumble and fall.





Dad, that trip was such a healing time for us, and I am so so grateful for that opportunity. We got to see God do some amazing things! It was on that trip that you taught me how to use a single lens reflex camera! (which I am obviously thankful for) But I want you to know how much you mean to me. That picture God was showing me was so special because I have an earthly father who loves me in such a beautiful way- rooted from the love you have for our heavenly Father. You support me in so many areas of my life, you speak truth to me, humble me, teach me and most of all you love me. I know you aren't perfect, but you are the best I could ever ask for.





I love you, Dad! Happy Birthday...God is going to do amazing things this year, I hope you can feel it too!!

Marybeth, 445