Friday, October 14, 2011

Misleading Distances


Yesterday was the first day of vacation, and after putting some loose ends behind us, we headed out on a long drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming.  As we traveled, I thought of the pioneers who moved across the west in wagon trains.  As they were full of hope and tired feet, I kept looking out and wondering what they thought of this land.  While creeks are still prominent and the land was rich for growing crops, I can see them looking at this with a sense of future potential.  Then, farther west, as the cliffs starting cropping out of the lands, maybe it was those who dreamed of raising cattle who saw the land as a place of opportunity. 
I did wonder, as the lands flatten out and distances are misleading, how that struck these travelers.  As they crossed the flat stretches, they would have seen for days in front of them what was next to travel.  But, I wondered if that was a comfort of knowing what was ahead, or a discouragement of perhaps not seeing the hills grow any closer. 
Distance can be misleading.  It can seem that the next turn, (metaphorically now), in life should be right now.   But, there it is way off in the shadowy haze of the horizon.  “How long Lord?” is a question I’m sure many lips have asked crossing through this land, and through life. 
But, the hills are growing closer and last night we even spotted mountains in the distance, rising up out of the plains.  I think I found my song to fit them, “Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o’er the plains.  And the mountains in reply, echo back their glorious strain.  Gloria!”  Gloria indeed for a beautiful land, so diverse as we move through it.  What a beautiful way to kick off vacation, with realizing the diversity our earth has within it.  

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