Psalm 95:3-4 “For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hands are the depths of the earth; and the mountain peaks belong to Him”
We saved our money and purchased five airline tickets for our family’s dream vacation. We would fly to Las Vegas, rent a vehicle, and drive to the Grand Canyon. With two teenage sons and a pre-teen daughter in tow, cross country trekking was quite an exasperating adventure and I reminisced the days of traveling with younger children, wondering if this were any easier. Incredibly, the disagreements had not changed over time for they still argued over who was touching who, where we would stop to eat, and whose turn it was to sit in the middle.
But this was the trip of a lifetime and nothing, not even grouchy, hard-to-please teenagers would ruin it.
The big day finally arrived: the day we would stand on the spot that graced the cover of every middle-school geography text book in existence.
Rising before sunrise, we loaded the car with the essentials: a cooler of sandwiches and waters, chips, binoculars, toilet paper, (because what mom doesn’t pack that?) and wet wipes. Our not-so-eager troops crammed into the back seat and the long trip proved blissfully quiet, because no one can marathon-sleep like a teenager!
Our crew was still snoozing as we parked and announced with much pomp and circumstance, “We are at the Grand Canyon!”
Three grumpy offspring emerged from the vehicle, stretching and yawning as we made our way to the place of my dreams. There we gazed upon THE GRAND CANYON!
Its grandeur and beauty took my breath and the five of us stood in speechless awe for about 20 seconds beholding God’s indescribable creation.
It was Chad, our oldest, who broke the silence.
“Hmm,” he said. “It’s just a big hole in the ground! Are we ready to go now?”
My husband and I came close to losing all sanity as we realized just how vastly our expectations had exceeded our reality. All this magnificence of God’s canyon proved second to their anticipation of the swimming pool back at the hotel.
How often do I treat God’s grandeur this way? The beauty of His world encompasses all, yet I am often blind to it as I anticipate the next thing on my list. Am I too rushed to cherish the work of His hands? Is my sight clouded by the man-made obstacles surrounding me? Sisters, as we seek for blessings of the quarantine, may one be that our eyes and our hearts behold and treasure the majestic creations of our loving Father who fashioned it all from His love.
Father God, for the beauty of the Earth, we give thanks.
Rita Cochrane