060 - The Challenges of Loneliness with Jonathan Zaharek

In this episode, Jonathan Zaharek, a professional landscape photographer and ultra hiker, shares his journey of self-discovery and faith through his love for the Adirondack Mountains. Jonathan discusses his passion for hiking, particularly the challenging winter hikes, and how he balances his outdoor adventures with his new marriage. He reflects on his evolution as a photographer, emphasizing the importance of storytelling and connection with nature. The conversation also delves into Jonathan's faith and how it intertwines with his outdoor experiences, highlighting the significance of living out one's beliefs in the wilderness. In this conversation, Jonathan Zaharek shares his insights on connecting with God through nature, the challenges of loneliness, and the importance of God's timing in personal growth. He emphasizes the clarity and peace found in outdoor experiences and encourages listeners to seek a deeper relationship with God, even in difficult seasons. Jonathan also discusses his journey of faith, community, and the significance of embracing one's individuality in the context of God's plan.

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Chapters

• 14:57 [Ad] The Balance of Gray
• 15:47 (Cont.) 060 - The Challenges of Loneliness with Jonathan Zaharek
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• 29:43 (Cont.) 060 - The Challenges of Loneliness with Jonathan Zaharek

Transcript

McKenzie Smith (00:03)
On today's episode of My Valley, His Victory, we have Jonathan Zaharik. He is a professional landscape photographer, filmmaker, and ultra hiker with a deep passion for the Adirondack high peaks in upstate New York. His work is rooted in storytelling, capturing the raw beauty of remote wilderness areas and extreme conditions. With over a decade of experience in photography, he has hiked more than 5,000 miles in the Adirondacks and completed over 10 full rounds of the Adirondack 46.

including three rounds of the winter 46 completions. Beyond photography, Jonathan is the author of Hiking the Adirondack 46 High Peaks, published by Falcon Guides, a definitive guidebook for the region. In addition to his work in the outdoors, Jonathan serves as a worship leader at Lake Placid Baptist Church, blending his love for faith and music with his creative pursuits. On the side, Jonathan can be found backcountry skiing and trail running through the Adirondacks.

He is also newly married and embracing this new chapter of life alongside his wife. Through his photography, filmmaking, and storytelling, he strives to inspire others to connect with nature, challenge themselves, and experience the world in its most authentic form. Thanks so much for being with us today, Jonathan.

Jonathan Zaharek (01:17)
Pleasure to be on here. Thank you for having me, McKinsey.

McKenzie Smith (01:19)
Yeah, absolutely. So I know I just read your bio, but why don't you go ahead and just share with the listeners who you are and what you do.

Jonathan Zaharek (01:27)
Yeah, my name is Jonathan and I've lived in upstate New York in the Adirondack Mountains now for almost six years and it's been quite the journey. Kind of a lot of self-discovery, a lot of faith building, a lot of trusting and just kind of leaning into the things that I love and who I feel that God made me and really just kind of honing that in and using that to the best ability that I can to

bring him glory and as well as make a living at the same time. So, and there's obviously a lot of things that come with that.

McKenzie Smith (02:04)
Yeah. So where were you before you were in New York?

Jonathan Zaharek (02:07)
Yeah, I'm an Ohioan, so I'm Ohio native, born and raised, and I lived there for 22 years. well, later on I can explain, I did take a hiatus and I went back to Ohio for a year in the six years of living here. But that's a story for a different point in time in this episode maybe. But yeah.

McKenzie Smith (02:32)
Yeah, so being in Ohio and then moving to New York, is that where you got introduced to hiking and kind of all of these crazy outdoor adventures that you go on or kind of where did that journey start?

Jonathan Zaharek (02:44)
I would say for the most part, hiking to the way I do it today definitely is an extension or was rooted in after moving here. I definitely did things outdoorsy. I just was not obsessed about it like I am now. I was raised to, you know, love the outdoors, spent time with my dad fishing and some small hikes because I spent every summer here in upstate New York. So...

I was definitely exposed to the Adirondacks at a young age, but not in this way, not into the Lake Placid region at all. So this is definitely a nuance to me in the whole spectrum of my life.

McKenzie Smith (03:24)
Yeah, so you mentioned that you've done the Adirondack 46 challenge 10 times and three of them have been in the winter. I've heard that they're beasts to hike just in normal conditions. Why the winter and I don't know just share with us a little bit about that experience.

Jonathan Zaharek (03:45)
Yeah.

So for those who might not be aware or have listened to other previous episodes as well, there are 46 beautiful mountains, 4,000 footers in the Northern section of New York state. And they are breathtaking. They are unique compared to even all the other Northeastern mountain ranges. Something about them just glows the community here. It's so addicting. There's so much camaraderie and everyone

is inspiring each other and it just sucks you in. Some people love the White Mountains, some people love the Green Mountains or Maine or even the Appalachians. But tucked way away from all those places, off the highway, off the beaten path, definitely an inconvenience for anyone to get to is the Adirondack Mountains. And for the few who do find a connection to them, it's life changing. And so I found that connection and I...

pursued the arts essentially with that. Kind of getting into the community here of like-minded hikers, other content creators, finding myself having a very special place that I did not quite understand when I moved here. Even though I had a love for these mountains and was doing photography and YouTube videos, I didn't know what it would manifest into and it's definitely been a long time coming and not

anywhere near, I guess you could say like, you know, it's going to mean where you want to be is going to take a lifetime, you know, and I'm just kind of trying to take one day at a time and see what that turns into. And I'll tell you, it's blessings upon blessings, a life that I am not worthy of living, but where much is given, much is expected. And so I take that seriously and I take, like anyone who might be listening, everyone has a influence.

If you love the outdoors, you have an influence, whether that's pushing leave no trace or just doing something inspirational or simply just being another voice. And it's understanding that responsibility and being able to use that to better other people, which I think at the end of everything, whatever you do should hopefully in some fashion better someone else on the other side.

McKenzie Smith (06:05)
Yeah, absolutely. I think that's so good. So whenever you have kind of taken some of these back country experiences in the winter, are you snowshoeing? you skiing? Are you back country skiing? How are you getting up these mountains in the winter time?

Jonathan Zaharek (06:22)
Sure. Yeah.

So there's definitely a hybrid of a lot of things you can do here. Uh, it's, it's different for every person. And for me, backcountry skiing is a lot newer, uh, in the realm of, um, or I guess on the spectrum of all my winter, uh, experiences, my first round that I did of the winter 46, um, which is, uh, was a single season, which is doing all 46 high peaks in one singular winter season. Uh, I

didn't know how to ski or anything like that. was on snowshoes, which 95 % of everyone here in the backcountry in the winter time are on snowshoes. And then there's the occasional people who don't bring snowshoes. And we yell at them because it's illegal to actually not hike out here with snowshoes when the snow is deeper than eight inches, which it is every day after like November 1st. But you know, snowshoeing, so I definitely got my fair share of hard

efforts breaking two or three feet of snow for 18 hours, sometimes trying to get some of these mountains. And, you know, I find myself solo quite often, but that eventually did, because of the people I hung out with and everything, did eventually discover backcountry skiing, which honestly has changed my life in a lot of ways. Cause in the winter time, when there's enough snow, I don't snowshoe anymore. I'm passing all these hikers and everyone like, yeah, it's, know,

It's still hard to get up the mountain. I get up the same speed if not slower sometimes. But it's definitely really, really fun to backcountry ski. And I like to do it in a little bit more of an unconventional way. I don't just go to the backcountry glades or slides like a lot of people do here. I love skiing up and down these mountains on trails that are not designed or built for skiing. And although it can definitely be...

You know, to some just survival skiing and slow and arduous. I find a lot of joy in it. So.

McKenzie Smith (08:22)
Yeah, that's interesting that you don't take like the normal, normal way down. actually was watching one of your Instagram stories the other day and you had mentioned like, don't walk on the trail. And I was like, I don't really understand. But now that you just said that it's illegal for people to hike, that makes sense. and then you were skiing down and it looked like there were just, I mean, a couple of feet like on each, like it, it made me nervous watching. I was like,

Jonathan Zaharek (08:46)
Yeah, yeah, they're the hiking trails, right? It's the hiking trails.

McKenzie Smith (08:52)
that like how do you make turns so quickly?

Jonathan Zaharek (08:53)
Yeah. Well, I, when I, when I, well,

when I shared those stories, I try to only share the sections where it looks terrifying and like I'm doing a great job. The other 99 % of the time, it's actually like going down some of those types of trails. It's actually just like stop turn re rebalance your skis pizza really hard getting down. So it doesn't, it looks like you're struggling. Um, but, uh, not that showing that's not.

McKenzie Smith (09:12)
Yeah.

Hahaha

Jonathan Zaharek (09:21)
fun and I love showing all of it. I'll document all this stuff and put it on YouTube when I can and people will get the full effect. The main thing that I try to work on now in the winter is skiing all 46, which has been my main thing once the snow is deep enough. I'm currently 18 out of 46 done. Again, it's a slow process because you're really at the mercy of your schedule and the conditions. I like to go when the snow is

McKenzie Smith (09:22)
Yeah.

Thank you.

Jonathan Zaharek (09:50)
deep and powdery. And people who've done it before, which I believe there's three finishers, they didn't all get to choose their days. And luckily, though, living here has been a blessing, not just for skiing, but for all seasons being able to pick and choose. So I guess you could call me a fair weather hiker, but I definitely have my fair share of inclement experiences.

McKenzie Smith (10:12)
Yeah, hey, if you live there, you get to pick and choose and it's not so pressing. So you can be a fair weather hiker if you live somewhere. If you don't live somewhere, it's like you got to pony up and do all the things because you're only there for a certain amount of days. So I know that you mentioned that you just got married. Where or kind of how does your wife, does she do all of these crazy things with you? Is she into the outdoors or, you know, how do you guys navigate that together?

Jonathan Zaharek (10:16)
Yeah.

Well,

I actually think so her name's Sarah. I think Sarah has actually single-handedly done something crazier than anything I've ever done, which is, choosing to marry me. and I think there's a lot of reasons why, not that it's actually crazy, because I mean, there's a lot of beauty in our relationship, because there's a lot of, unconventionalism. You know, we both grew up in the same town in Ohio and I brought her all the way up here.

McKenzie Smith (10:49)
Hahaha

Jonathan Zaharek (11:07)
And she's never lived in a place like this. She didn't grow up doing any hiking or are really any winter sports, but she does have an innate desire for the outdoors. She does like the outdoors quite a bit, and loves the snow and the beauty of the nature up here. And, although it's distant for her, we, we click very well together as a team, just with life. Cause she understands I have two things that I do and now I have to obviously take consideration.

so that I don't put myself in a scary situation and really just helping her find her place here in the North Country, the community of people and work and everything. So does she go out with me occasionally? She hasn't actually, we've only lived up here now for two weeks together. So she hasn't gone out and done any winter hiking yet because we've been trying to get settled in. But she will and I know she'll love it and taking her, you know, I'm not like going to be throwing her up a high peak or anything like that right away.

McKenzie Smith (11:38)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (12:03)
But she's

definitely interested in getting some winter high peaks this season if we can. Hopefully, maybe she might try to finish her 46 in any magnitude, just in general. yeah, I think for me, what matters is that I have a spouse who takes interest after the things that I love and cares about those things, even if she doesn't necessarily do them herself.

McKenzie Smith (12:16)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (12:32)
and the other way around as well because she helps me slow down and just make better choices sometimes.

McKenzie Smith (12:41)
Yeah,

absolutely. I think that's fun and it's cool that she's interested but maybe hasn't had some of those experiences yet. And so it's really cool that you get to show her and teach her and get to take her along and maybe watch that love for the outdoors boil inside of her.

Jonathan Zaharek (12:58)
Yeah, because I didn't

have that at one point, you know, and it takes an initiative and a self-discovery. know, everyone at some point didn't, you know, I mean, a lot of people who are in love with the outdoors, like I'm such as yourself, it's like look at yourself now versus maybe when you were in, you know, your teens, some people, I'm sure were out hiking and doing fun things, maybe hunting with their parents or, you know, Boy Scouts or whatever. But, you know, I think I can speak for a lot of people that...

McKenzie Smith (13:05)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (13:27)
People later in life or as they got older started, you know, and I'm not that old. I'm 27. You know, people probably didn't discover the outdoors and how much they loved it till they were in their 30s or 40s, you know, but...

McKenzie Smith (13:38)
Yep.

Yeah, pretty much everything I do now I learned in my 20s, so I get it. it's, I think there's a cool balance because it's like if I would have been introduced to some of these things as a kid, would I have loved it the way I loved it now? I'm not sure, you know? Because some things are, you know, like...

Jonathan Zaharek (13:45)
There you go.

McKenzie Smith (13:59)
put upon us by our parents and some things we actually get to develop our own love for and so it's cool whenever we find something that we love and we, you know, choose and make effort, you know, in our adulthood. And I think we just have to be unafraid to be a beginner and that's, I feel like the most challenging part. So many people as an adult want to learn new things. They're just like, I don't know if I want to be a beginner. And it's just like, get over it. You'll be great. Everyone has to learn at some point. So.

Jonathan Zaharek (14:00)
Mm-hmm.

McKenzie Smith (14:27)
So share with us a little bit about your photography business and kind of how you got started in photography.

Jonathan Zaharek (14:37)
Sure. So it kind of, the story goes, I dropped chemistry class in high school and I took up your book and I've always liked photography, even though I never owned a camera. I was always messing around with my parents' camera and I loved astronomy and the stars and I would take the camera home on weekends and sometimes on break when I wasn't supposed to. But I would really just started falling in love with it.

and then eventually bought my own camera and upon vacations coming up here or traveling around the country to national parks or overseas, I would take my camera with me and just have fun. And I loved the landscape. For some reason, I just felt drawn to it. I felt like I was able to understand that environment, that dynamic, the light, the color, the emotion really well for myself. And so I just started to do that and eventually...

Started filming videos and that brought me up here eventually because I was able to create artwork that was put into the art galleries making side income on that content creation on YouTube which turned into monetization for my work and Instagram and Yeah, so I've really been doing the same thing Keeping the main thing the main thing for years. I'm just hoping over time

you know, my work improves and I'm able to do it better, more efficient and learn from trial and error, which I think is the biggest advocate in everything is trial and error, because the second time is always better than the first and so forth. So yeah, photography has definitely been something that kind of, I guess you could say like, I mean, I feel like I picked it in a way, but I also feel like it's what I was meant to do forever.

McKenzie Smith (16:10)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (16:29)
I think when I say I've picked it, I chose like, Hey, I don't know how I am going to make money off of this because landscape photography is very saturated, especially when you live in a beautiful place. so I don't know, but I really love it and I'm going to start with that. So instead of finding a job that maybe paid really well or was in some area that I liked and then grew it into a passion.

I found something first and foremost that I was passionate about and said, you know what? I don't know how, but if I can make money doing this, I'm going to try. That way I knew I at least was doing something that I loved no matter what came from it. And being an artist definitely has its ebbs and flows. It's not always easy. There's dry seasons, there's good seasons, there's And it's really fun being able to consistently tell stories. And I think the biggest thing that has kept me doing it

has been connecting with the community of the Adirondacks because I've been able to find a niche to photograph. I've been able to find an environment that tens of thousands of other people know and I can take pictures and they have a sense of understanding with that picture. I'm able to convey a message that they understand, that they feel and they connect with. And I think that's the biggest thing that sells in photography, isn't the quality of the image.

McKenzie Smith (17:33)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (17:52)
But it's the emotion convicted, the story that it tells. And you have to get that to the right person.

McKenzie Smith (17:58)
Yeah, absolutely. I think that it's cool too, because you're, you know, with your athletic skills and all of your outdoor skills, like you're getting to places that probably most people don't. And so you're getting to capture things differently from a different perspective. so.

I think that it's always cool whenever the photographer can do things to take people along some of those experiences that they may never in their life ever even get to experience, but they can feel like they live through it because you captured it. So the outdoors are great. They're beautiful. We love the Adirondacks, but talk to us about how being in the outdoors plays a role maybe specifically in your relationship with Christ.

Jonathan Zaharek (18:43)
So, my relationship with Christ came first before my love for the outdoors. And so, it's pretty much where... I look at life a lot like how God led the Israelites out of Egypt as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Because it's where He went, they went. And I think that, you know, the life that you live as a Christian, what you find out is it's not 100 % God.

And it's not 100 % you. It's 100 % God and 100 % you. And so God is doing everything. You are incapable of doing anything yourself, even if you think you can. And then God is also calling you to lead in full faith and to work and to move and to walk. You know, it's that whole free will and predestination. But you know, it's 100 % both. And Christ,

obviously led an example. And I think what I've realized is you can completely separate both things, meaning you can separate what you do and you can separate your relationship with Christ, but you can take your relationship with Christ and what that means and put it into anything. It fits into everything. And so let me expand on that separation and what it means for me here. I can be a Christian and I can be a Christ follower wherever I go, whatever I do.

I can do that on my own. I can do that, right? In Psalm 139, it talks about whether I'm in the farthest seas, whether I'm in the grave, whether I'm in heaven, wherever I am, your spirit goes with me. You are with me always and you see me. And that is so true. So it's like your relationship with God is completely separate of whatever He's calling you to do, but now it's also completely

It should revolve around everything you do and that's where the 100 % you comes in as well. God knows we're going to struggle. God knows we're going to fall short consistently in what we do. But it is by His grace that we can even have the ability to glorify Him in an occupation. Where at times I feel like, how am I glorifying you, Lord? How Christ, like how am I showing the Christ to these people? How am I leading this by example?

You know, and I think we are our biggest enemies. We are our biggest... Like we judge ourselves the hardest. And so, I think what we have to first get over is that Christ will use us and can use us. And it starts with a willingness. Because He calls you. Right? He called you by name. He opened your eyes. You did nothing. And where you are today, by the grace of God, you have breath in your lungs and...

you are doing something and when he comes back, he wants to see us working. That's what he wants. He wants to see you working. He wants to see you living a life that he gave you and working all the way up until the end times, you know, whenever that is. And so that's how the role of Christ for me, Jesus plays. And, you know, I've met so many amazing Christians. You had Mark recently and James on the podcast recently. And those guys, you know,

I met Mark just as a friend. You know, we had mutual things that we liked and we just met up. And he never lived here, but God called him here and he decided that Lake Placid Baptist Church where I worship lead was a good fit for him. And he joined the worship team, which is something we were praying for before we even knew Mark existed, that we could have someone else come onto the team. And know, Lord provided him and James is a great companion.

another podcaster, another lover of the Adirondacks. And, you know, they all have different perspectives and different beliefs. And I've met other friends and other people here. And I think the thing at the end of the day is Christians and non-Christians alike come to me and say, Christians might say, thank you for being a not-spoken Christian and for declaring your faith. And non-Christians will say, it's amazing how,

important your faith is to you. It's very convicting. And I know the glory of the Lord is seen through my work, but not because of what I'm doing. It's all Him. You know, it's weird when you put it that way, but I mean, it's His creation. It's His light. It's His camera. It's His eyeballs, you know, for me, I guess, in a way. But He's also given me the ability to experience those things. So yeah, I don't know. That's kind of a long answer.

to your question, feel like. it's complex, but it's also not at the same time.

McKenzie Smith (23:36)
Yeah.

Yeah, no, I love that you added the separation of, you know, God is in everything by default, right? But also, like, we have to willingly choose to make him a part of everything. And so it's both. And I think that's a really, really important thing is like, we can try to take him out of certain things or we can try to not, you know, glorify him in certain things, but...

Jonathan Zaharek (23:54)
Mm-hmm.

McKenzie Smith (24:07)
He's there regardless, so we might as well. You know? And I think it's what you're doing is so important and people, you know, even though it's photos and it may not be like sharing the gospel, it's portraying his creation that some people may never see. you know, the Bible talks about the creation being a way that everyone sees God, you know, whether they want to admit it or not, it. Yep.

Jonathan Zaharek (24:30)
Yeah. Romans 1.20. Yeah, that's my

live verse.

McKenzie Smith (24:36)
Yep, you can probably quote it verbatim then. I can't, but you know, it's like no one's without excuse. know, like everybody's seen him through his work. And so you showing some of those places I think could help people, you know, see God.

Jonathan Zaharek (24:45)
Yum.

Yeah.

And don't get me wrong, like I've actually, like I have had opportunities to share the gospel and I've had opportunities to hold to my convictions on things where I was tested. And so not only is the Lord testing me in many ways up here, but is also giving me opportunity, bringing them to me and giving me the wisdom and eyes to see what opportunities around and simply even just how I can love my friends, how I can just pour into them.

And I do think, you know, there is something to be said about living like Christ that can help. But I think that sometimes up here takes a little bit more than just living like a Christian because there's a lot of people here who have childhood religious trauma. And it's like, yay, cool. I mean, you're a really awesome person. You you say you're Christian, but I'm happy for you. You know, and so just living that way, all it does is it makes you a reliable person to them.

and someone that is a good person, quote unquote, to them. And so I think it definitely takes a little bit more here to challenge that when questions arise because you'd be surprised how a lot of people at the end of the day all have the same exact, those who aren't Christian, they have a very similar problem with it. They all came from a lot of the same places up here. They all grew up religious, they all grew up in a...

Christian home or something like that. And it's all like, you know, I believe in something spiritual or higher power and I need to find it within myself and it's okay. When the main thing is people are just deceived from their sin, they don't understand what that is. They don't understand their need for salvation because they don't see themselves as drowning. They see themselves as safe. You're walking on land. But really what you're doing is just because

McKenzie Smith (26:46)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (26:49)
You're fed and you have water and you have shelter and you still live in the wilderness does not mean you're thriving as an individual. I don't know if that makes sense. You can still walk through the wilderness and... I don't know where I'm going with that, but...

McKenzie Smith (27:01)
Yeah.

Yeah,

no, I was following you. Yeah, I think it's, it's a lot of the same story. for my listeners, know this, I lived through that story. was atheist, agnostic, hated the church for a while. it can be hard because there's, I think we grew up in a...

what I'll call like cultural Christianity where everyone was Christian, Like quote unquote. But there wasn't really like the feet on the pavement. It was like, yeah, I believe in God. Like I go to church sometimes and it wasn't like actively following and living for Christ, right? And so I think that there's a lot of things that can happen in that space.

Jonathan Zaharek (27:37)
Mm-hmm.

turn.

McKenzie Smith (27:57)
And yeah, it's it's challenging for sure, especially whenever people have been hurt by people that are, you know, so-called Christians. And it's like you have to be able to separate the two, you know.

Jonathan Zaharek (28:07)
I think a

good way to put it is we have a domesticated view of Christ.

McKenzie Smith (28:12)
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I think we everyone, I think we also just live in the season of everyone wants to do what they want and they don't want to be told what to do. And the Bible obviously tells you what you should and shouldn't do. And so immediately people are like, well, how could, you know, so on and so forth. But another topic for another time. So can you share a story with us about a way in which maybe God has spoken to you or revealed himself to you in the outdoors?

Jonathan Zaharek (28:42)
Hmm.

So there's something amazing that happens to the human mind when you go outside. That no matter who you are, you experience it. And there is this clarity, this dopamine that you almost feel free in your mind. Like you have clarity, you can think. When you're hiking, quite literally, scientifically, dopamine is released in your body and the...

Somehow, for me, I notice it and I see it happening when it's happening, and I see the sense of clarity in my mind and in my life. And so it's in those times where, well, majority of the time I'm out by myself, I really have a lot of time to think. And so I find myself a lot of times assessing my walk, assessing my community, assessing...

where the Lord has me and what He's calling to do. It's almost like when Jesus says, I tell you, instead of praying in front of everyone, you should go to the corners of your room and pray in silence where no one sees you. And to me, that's what that feels like when I'm out in the woods solo. It's just me communicating with God, even if I'm not verbally praying out loud as I walk, which I do sometimes. A lot of times it's...

a lot of just that thinking and what that can do and what it's led me to many times is conviction for myself and who I've been and being humbled, of course, in the physical aspect of it where there are times where I will, many times I'll kind of drop, like when I get to somewhere that was challenging or something that I knew was a success, I'll drop down to my knees and I'll pray and give God glory for that and I always...

I'm always consistently asking him to give me endurance and energy to get up this and wisdom to make choices. And every time, every single time, I encourage you, if you're a Christian, like you have a relationship with God, next time you find yourself physically going through something demanding right before you have to do it or in the middle of it, just confidently ask God to give you endurance and strength to get up it. And like, I'm not even kidding. It's somehow the Spirit just, he just, he gets you through it and it's like, you get to that.

and you're just like, wow. And I don't know, it's something that I take advantage of because where the Lord says, ask for wisdom and I won't withhold it from you. You know, and I find when I'm out here and I'm struggling, asking for the wisdom and endurance and energy to get through whatever it is, He always provides. So there's definitely aspects where it's all personal. And then there's the times where I'm creating content. And when I go to share that content, I...

I want to make sure that I pray for my content as I post it and that I'm always trying to, you know, share genuinely from the heart and stuff like that. you know, and I have a lot of opportunities to go out into the woods with other Christians. And I really actually try to do that as often as I can because I grew up in a very, very Christian environment. So many friends. mean, half of my high school went to my youth group.

I mean, it was crazy. was just a bubble. And now up here, it's very lone, alone. You know, I have a great church of a small body though. Not many people in their twenties at all. And most of the Christians out here, I have to discover, I have to find them. And it's like, wait, what? didn't even just my friend the other day, my friend, Brandon. I mean, I ski with him every once in a while. I see him every once in a while, but he's like, dude, can't, I can't go.

on Wednesday with you because I have to, I'm actually leading the message at my son, my youth group on Wednesday night. I was like, what? You never told me you did that. And he's like, yeah. I was like, did you know I did this? And he's like, what? No, I didn't know that either. So you just like discover like, wait, what? We're both Christians. That's crazy. You know, so.

McKenzie Smith (32:49)
Yeah.

Yeah, that's fun. I love that. It's cool when those things happen and whenever it's like, I knew I was connected to you know, or like I knew that I was, that I really liked you for some reason or whatever and it's it, you end up being both Christ followers. I think that's really cool. So I know that you live in the Adirondacks.

which is obviously super beautiful. You've said it's one of your favorite places in the world and it's just unlike any other place. for, you know, maybe let's go back to your time in Ohio. What is a way that people can start connecting with God on an everyday basis through creation, even if they live somewhere that's not, you know, so beautiful as the Adirondacks?

Jonathan Zaharek (33:33)
Hmm.

Yeah, I would say first thing you should do is go read Romans chapter one. Read Romans chapter one versus probably 14 or so to the end, that second half of the chapter. Just read it carefully. then no matter, honestly, does not matter what time of the day or where you are. Go outside after reading that and just breathe and look around and really assess.

how you perceive what's around you, whether you're in the city or in a suburban neighborhood or on a farm or whatever it is, just read that and then go outside and just meditate on those words. And I think you can connect with the outdoors simply just by implementing that scripture. But I would also say, so I can process this thought

Can you ask the question a second time?

McKenzie Smith (34:41)
Yeah, I said, you know, not everybody lives in Adirondacks, so maybe go back to your time in Ohio. What are some ways that people can start connecting with God on an everyday basis through creation?

Jonathan Zaharek (34:47)
There.

Sure.

So I would say it's the connecting with God through creation, right? So you can connect with God without creation and you can connect with creation without God. But connecting with God and creation obviously starts with having relationship with God, but the God of the Bible, know, Elohim, know, Adonai, walking with Christ. And I would say wherever you are, there's a lot of beautiful places.

every single nook and corner of every single state here. For me, there was a little park in the little town, Farmland of Ohio that I grew up in. I'm sure wherever you live, no matter what it is, within a 10 minute drive, there is something. And I'm sure you know what that is. But whether it's going on a run, going on a bike ride, going for a little kayak on the river, or in the winter time, going for a cross country ski, or simply just going for a drive, going and watching the sunset, whether you have a spouse or not.

Just taking time to just, as creation, yourself, because you are creation. You know? Give glory back to God. Hear the birds better. Listen to the birds. Listen to the wind. Feel light. You know, try to increase your senses of everything and understand Genesis 1-1. You know? What does that mean? And just look around you and don't look at it as...

necessarily by chance, but look at everything as a canvas. Just a complex canvas that you can't comprehend. know? And I think when you start to really just understand creation on a... I mean, everything from when you look to the stars all the way down to the cells in the blade of a grass, the complexity of it. Understanding the complexity of your own body and how you were in it together in your mother's womb.

McKenzie Smith (36:27)
Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (36:48)
There's so many different perspectives that just really humble you. But I think scripture really just hones in on the rocks cry out in silence. You know, where the wind doesn't know where it goes. The sun and the moon rise and set because they're told to. You know, he looks at the stars and he knows them all by name. And that was before any stars had names. Like, what does that even mean? You know?

We see also in Psalm 139 how your thoughts for me are more than all the sands on the earth. And they didn't even understand at that time how much sand was on the earth. They just had deserts in the wilderness there. So, I mean, even Christ died on a hill that He created. So, creation is in everything. And I think it's just important to kind of...

McKenzie Smith (37:23)
blows my mind.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (37:44)
fix your eyes on that for every person. Because every person, whether they like it or not, is connected to creation because they are creation.

McKenzie Smith (37:52)
Yeah, I love how practical you started that. Just go read Romans 1, you know, because I think that's that's such tangible, know, such a tangible piece of advice. And, know, you're so right about everything else you said. But I love that piece because it's just so tangible. It's like just go read this and then go step outside and you're going to feel a different way about it for sure.

Jonathan Zaharek (38:14)
Hmm.

McKenzie Smith (38:22)
Thank you so much for sharing that. Well, switching gears a little bit, Jonathan, to the title of this podcast, My Valley, His Victory, would love for you to share a valley or a season of wilderness that you experienced and just what God maybe taught or prepared you for in that season.

Jonathan Zaharek (38:42)
So I mentioned earlier how I grew up in such a Bible-believing community, and it wasn't a bunch of fake Christians. It really was, and still is, an incredible, godly-centered community in southwest Ohio. And for a lot of people, that either left them to deconstruct their faith, or it led them to a long-lasting walk with Christ.

And for me, it was the latter. I definitely assessed, even though I grew up in a Christian home, I assessed everything and really just took on my own relationship, made it very, very personal to the point where I can't deny it. My heart just knows utterly. I felt that with the character that...

And when I say character, don't mean like in a mature character. I mean character as in like the person you are, I guess. The character of who I am, who Jonathan is, from the formulation of my parents really helped me to be this unconventional, outgoing, adventurous person. But also with an insatiable desire of community and friendship.

and attention and needing love and affection from other people. And despite that, the Lord led me to a place where it was desolate. Desolate of a Christian community, desolate of my best friends, desolate of my family. No one lives in New York state that's related to me. I'm all alone.

up here and I moved up here when I was 22 and a 22 year old male, I'll tell you, you start wondering even though they're so young, you start wondering, man, am I going to be alone for the rest of my life? And we all probably around that age start to think those things and you just don't know. And so there's a point in time where I really had to just let go and just understand that how the Lord has provided for every single thing in my life, everything, even though...

At times I said, Lord, the one thing you haven't provided for me was a spouse or just certain things that I need. I realized I didn't need them at that time. And for the last six years, or let's just say five years, I experienced a lot of loneliness at times here.

Even though I do feel like I'm a pretty strong person, like to be able to live alone and just fend for myself, like I can cook well, I can drive well. I feel like I can do life tasks completely fine, logistics, problem solving. I love it all. So living alone, like I felt like I was definitely taken it by the horns. But as much as I felt like I was able to handle it, it over time built up more and more and more.

I would say the Valley was really just experiencing a lot of overwhelming loneliness because there's kind of two types of loneliness where there is a lot of support around you, like friends and family and people that genuinely love you, lots of it, but you don't feel that for some reason. You still feel in this pit of loneliness. And then there is a part where if that was there,

You would recognize it and take it so much, you wouldn't struggle with it, but because it's not there, it is like a lack of water, right? It's like the difference between having food on your plate but having no appetite versus starving but having no food. You know? And so, I'm the second part. And that really made me lean in to God and seeing, whoa, how even in the midst of where I'm not receiving

a very special kind of love or affirmation that he created. How can I still find that? How can I still find the joy? How can I still find the reason in everything that I do, even alone? Because even God said, it's not good for man to be alone. And so I will say this. I will say this. Piece of encouragement to anyone here listening, who does find themselves in loneliness.

or desiring to be with a lifelong companion and hasn't, whether you're 20 or 40 or older, what I will tell you is that God makes no mistakes. That He sees you exactly where you are. He is not missing anything. He withholds no good thing from those who love Him. And that Jesus Himself said, Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you.

and the Lord wants to give you the desires of your heart. He does. And so if he sees your heart, he knows it better than anything. And to be honest, your heart is deceitful above everything else. So you shouldn't ever trust really what you think you need or what you want. Because most likely what you want is not what you need, and what you need is not what you want. And so there's a lot of abandonment that needs to happen. For example, being content in singleness.

McKenzie Smith (43:52)
Mm-hmm.

Jonathan Zaharek (44:09)
I was always taught growing up being content in singleness was to suppress the desire of being with someone. When in fact, it's not that. It's embracing it and being like, can go wherever and do whatever without someone I don't need. I want companionship. But I don't need it to fulfill what the Lord is calling me to right now because He clearly hasn't brought that into my life.

McKenzie Smith (44:29)
Right.

Jonathan Zaharek (44:37)
Once he brings that into my life, then I know I'm being called to a fulfillment of a husband or a wife. And since that is not at this moment, that doesn't mean you can't... When you're contained in singleness, that still doesn't mean you can't be proactive in searching for those things. It doesn't mean you can't welcome that. You know, I think for people who being like, I just want to focus on my relationship with God. I get it. I understand what you're saying. But, you know, still have openness. If the Lord wants to do something for you, don't just, you know...

be so like, you know, pushed back about it. Unless you have a clear conviction from the Holy Spirit about something that you're fasting from, I would say just always be open to everything that God wants to do because your life can change in 24 hours, upside down, everything, in a good way or in a bad way.

McKenzie Smith (45:15)
Yeah.

Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate you sharing that word of encouragement and just walking us, walking us through a little bit of that season. What, you know, for you in this season of loneliness and, you know, moving to a place where you knew, you know, nobody didn't have community, what, what started to move, move the needle for you in that place?

Jonathan Zaharek (45:57)
Okay, so this actually we're coming back now to that very opening thing where I said I took a year hiatus. Becoming the worship leader of my church, which by the way, I haven't really talked about yet, but that kind of in a nutshell. I always loved playing piano. I played on a couple of worship teams back in Ohio before I moved here and was actually plugged into the church here in Lake Placid forever, essentially. My parents have known...

the pastor and his wife for decades. And so I just, I mean, that church body was already here before I moved. So that was a huge answer to prayer before I even needed it. And I eventually came to the worship team on there. And then eventually months after that, transitioned to the worship leader and went everything from leading a full band of five, six people to solo. Trust me.

And that stretched me and led me to a place where I realized I had a spiritual discontentment with it. That the Lord called me to a lot of this leadership that I wasn't formally trained in or music that I wasn't formally trained in. And although I could do good enough, I felt like there was a calling that I wanted to take deeper. And I also wanted to mix that with a lot of taking a break from the Adirondacks because there was a lot.

going on that I didn't really understand. And so I took the opportunity to take a year hiatus and I went home, back home to Ohio. I packed everything up and left. And I decided to be a part-time student at Cedarville University, which is the university in the town that I grew up in. And I took music classes there. I took worship training classes there. And in that time, obviously was open to the idea of a person.

You know, it's just like, ah, Christian University, a bunch of girls, you know, whatever. It's going to be great. Um, only to just actually go through that entire year getting absolutely nowhere. Um, but, uh, it did bring, it did do a lot of wonders for me, uh, in terms of building friendships, um, and getting plugged in and kind of rebuilding.

and re-evaluating where my convictions are because after living for five years on my own, a lot of my convictions changed. I also grew up, you know, as a guy. Like I went through the whole cerebral cortex development alone. And so I was able to really just understand like, what do I view differently now? How's my worldview different? How has it changed? And really just testing that. But although I made a lot of great friendships,

I still moved back here, because I just knew I wasn't supposed to spend another year there. and so I just kind of came back here, just kind of wondering what does it look like? It kind of just picked up where I left off. but then Sarah, who grew up in Cedarville and actually was a student, at the university at the time that I went there, she actually, my parents own a 20 room, hotel in the town, that we built and I was raised in not well.

I was raised in, I live in a house, like I lived in house, but I was raised up in the hotel business. But Sarah ended up working for them. And over the years of my visiting to and from Ohio, thereafter at the university, we met and built our relationship from that moment. So again, I think that kind of just should, if anything, emphasize the Lord's timing. Because the amount of opportunity and free will...

that I had. like seriously, like I am even though I'm presented with opportunity, what does it say? It says, make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. And it's like, like I even making these choices myself, the Lord is still somehow like my free will is still limited by His sovereignty.

And it's, it's a very bizarre thing when you recognize it and you're like, well, my choice to move back, my choice to do this, my choice to date this person, my choice to whatever. it's like, somehow, even though it is your choice, it's still fully part of what God is doing. And it's like such a weird dynamic.

McKenzie Smith (50:22)
Yeah, it's hard to wrap your mind around sometimes. But no, think that it's good that you shared that story and shared about God's timing. I think back to the beginning of whenever you started to share this about how you went somewhere and you were alone and

You know, God says it's not good for man to be alone. So how can, you know, both of those things exist at the same time? But I think so often, like, God can use those situations to work things out in us that maybe we didn't even know needed to be worked out. And then to, you know, also see, like, are we going to lean on him? Is he enough for us? You know, and I think sometimes he puts us in some of those situations too.

Jonathan Zaharek (50:55)
Mm-hmm.

McKenzie Smith (51:20)
to really like solidify and know, kind of forge us, you know, in some way in the fire. And so.

Jonathan Zaharek (51:29)
It says, love is made perfect in your weakness, right?

McKenzie Smith (51:32)
Exactly. so, you know, it, it, it was not seems it was a hard season, but it sounds like there was a lot of fruit that developed out of that. And, know, you continue to stay faithful and you continue to, to just lean into God and trust his time. And I think that, I think that that's just so good. And that's just such an encouragement to, all of us. Like if we're in a hard season, just, just lean in.

Jonathan Zaharek (52:02)
Just keep one, like a hard hike, just put one foot in front of the other and you will get to your destination. Just keep one foot going. 30,000 steps.

McKenzie Smith (52:02)
You know...

Yeah. Yeah.

Yep. And I think so.

30,000 steps. Yeah. Well, and it's like, I think so often we get, we, make our plans, you know, like, like you said, but we, don't submit to that. Those may not be God's. And if he doesn't have us. Yeah. And if he doesn't have us in that place right now, like we have to trust that there's a reason for that and that that is good.

Jonathan Zaharek (52:30)
That's a key word, submit.

McKenzie Smith (52:41)
because changes are, could be very well protecting us from something. And so, yeah.

Jonathan Zaharek (52:46)
I'm sure he has in

my life and in your life. You don't even know.

McKenzie Smith (52:51)
and I don't, yeah, if I knew everything that God protected me from, don't, I don't even, I'm sure every single day.

Jonathan Zaharek (52:57)
If you could reveal it to you, you'd probably be both like

terrified, like that could have happened to me and both like, God, I'm sorry. I will never ever deviate ever again.

McKenzie Smith (53:06)
Yeah,

I'd be so overwhelmed. I'd be like, is this serious? Yeah. Well, Jonathan, thank you so much for sharing and for just being willing to share, you know, the hard season of your life and...

the in which God remained faithful through that and brought you to your wife now and you guys just got married and I'm super excited for this new season for you guys and just all that that entails. For those listening who maybe want to connect with you or learn more about your photography business, your YouTube, where can they find you and see all of your beautiful art?

Jonathan Zaharek (53:46)
Yeah, you can, I mean, you can simply Google my first and last name in Google and you will find there my Instagram, my YouTube channel. Those are my two main platforms and my website. Instagram and YouTube are just my first and last name and my website is Jonathanzphotography.com and it is Jonathan spelled like Jonathan in the Bible, the way it originally is supposed to be spelled, the only true correct way.

McKenzie Smith (54:13)
You

Jonathan Zaharek (54:13)
no H

in the beginning, no O at the end, just J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N. it's not short for- John is not short for Jonathan. John is a different name. it is Jonathan. Okay. I am saying this on behalf of all the Jonathans out there who struggle with the same thing.

McKenzie Smith (54:24)
Hahaha

And...

That's funny. And for those who might be interested in your book, is that on Amazon? Is that on your website? Where can they find your book?

Jonathan Zaharek (54:39)
Yeah, Amazon. Amazon's a great

place to get it. So yeah, it's just hiking the Adirondack 46 high peaks. And it's, I mean, it's even just a good coffee table book for a tie of like 270 images in there for that. And also, I will just say this, there's another business that I'm kind of, it's like low key right now, but it's still public. But I am building a brand called HikeADK.

ADK being Adirondacks and so you can find that on Instagram too before it launches.

McKenzie Smith (55:14)
Very cool. Excited for that. What... I know we didn't talk much about your book, but give us a 60 second spiel on what your book is. Is it the 46 high peaks and how to hike them? Is it just, does it tell stories? Is it a practical guide? Give us the short and what to expect on that.

Jonathan Zaharek (55:31)
It is a

book for those who are seeking to become a 46er and hike the 46 high peaks. Pretty much my expertise on all the hikes to do it efficiently and front of cover, 255 pages of just pure detail and love. If you like listening to me talk,

If you like listening to this podcast, then you might like listening to the book or reading the book because I really tried to reflect my nature and as a guide, I tried to reflect as if I was with you in person telling you how to do something or what to do or where to go.

McKenzie Smith (56:18)
Okay, very cool. Well, I'll have to, I have a friend immediately come to mind because she lives in New York and has done some of them. I'm like, you need this book. But yeah, thank you again, Jonathan, so much for being here and just for sharing your story.

Jonathan Zaharek (56:27)
There you go.

Yeah, thanks McKinsey for having me on. was pleasure.