Mount Rainier 

It was amazing to be able to experience this beautiful sight in person. I follow a handful of photographers who have taken the most beautiful pictures of this stunning volcano you will ever see. However, the feeling I felt in my spirit painted my mind in ways I cannot express with words. I only hope to showcase everything in my artwork throughout the forthcoming years. Before I had journeyed to Mount Rainier, I was going through so much pain and battling depression on a daily. So much pain, that I titled my art show "All of this came from dePRESSion" 3 months prior to be being at MRNP. I questioned my abilities, I questioned God, my existence...everything. I could not figure out what the problem was. I was told, "everything falls apart before something great happens." That it did! A week before my arrival, my AirBnb fell through, my rental car connect in Seattle fell through and I was losing hope at a rapid pace. My brother, Brandon Woodard, told me about a company called TURO - that's a car rental app. This was literally moments before deciding I was going to cancel my trip (and since I told everybody I was going - I was going to just stay in the house to save face). Found the TURO car for a great price, booked the car and I got my Airbnb fixed. In the darkest hours of pain, God finds a way to exude his Majesty. “Flight attendants, prepare for take-off please.”  I made it safely to Seattle and got settled into my cozy Airbnb and I am officially ready to see Mount Rainier.

The main thing I want people to understand from this trip, from this testimony and from this collection is this: GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS! Instead of helping me at home, instead of God letting me cancel my trip, instead of God letting me not experience being an OVERCOMER, he went silent. He took me across country to look an ACTIVE volcano in the face. I faced my fears. I cried my heart out and for the very first time I felt the presence of God. At that very moment, I knew God heard my prayers. I knew without a doubt God was real. At the very moment I type this paragraph I cry again. Thank you God for showing me, I wont always have people with me to journey through life. Sometimes You have to maneuver through the pain yourself to find that MOUNTAIN of a blessing. My tripod and I were on a mission to loaf through the woods of MRNP to see everything daylight had to offer. I am glad I did not encounter a Black bear or mountain lion, however, I didn't worry at all. I risked it all. The whole time, it was raining! Typically, I would complain about being soaked with clothes on. This time, I was on a mission to get my blessing. The level of peace that God bestowed upon me was one I've never experienced in my 30yrs of living. Being in the "blast zone" of a volcano that is expected to erupt again at some point is not a normal exercise of someone on a quest for peace. But "WHEN YOU EXERCISE FAITH, GOD WILL EXERCISE FAVOR" (Pearl, 2019).