My husband Neil and I recently returned from our much anticipated trip to the Grand Canyon, and I can tell you that everything we saw in nature was beyond our expectations, and we acknowledged as the angels rightly sing, “The Earth is full of His glory!”
What an amazing trip, highlighting so much of what God has created for us to enjoy here on Earth. We visited deserts, canyons, mountains, rock formations. Enjoyed the beauty of forests, trees, water and snow-covered peaks, none of which can be described adequately in words but truly must be lived in, felt and seen to be fully appreciated.
Again and again I reveled in the words of Irving Berlin’s song, “God Bless America,” most especially “… From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam …” and indeed God has blessed our land with natural beauty and wonders beyond our finite imaginations.
As we toured over 1,150 miles the views brought to mind Michelangelo and his numerous beautiful paintings and sculptures, each one attempting to portray the Master’s magnificent designs, all the while knowing that even the best of artists cannot hope to reach the perfection of the Original.
There is something about seeing the wonders of creation up close that gives me the assurance that the Apostle Paul’s words are true, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” This is proved out in the stories told by the American Indians of the area who, in non-connected tribes, acknowledge a Creator – One beyond themselves that made them and the lands they live in.
As we sat in a field of spring greenery at our final stop in Zion National Park, Utah, looking up at the mountain peaks and then watching as the park rangers taught busload after busload of children on the lawn about Zion, its plants and animals, a thought came to me that every child in America should have the privilege of seeing these wonders.
Instead of school trips to Disney World, our children should be saving their dimes and dollars to take in the wonders of the Antelope Slot Canyon, where walking through the caverns the sunbeams shine through slots in the upper rocks, causing the rays to bounce off the sand and create beautifully textured scenes. They might listen as a Navajo guide explains about the tribe’s sacred lands and why each space is named for their interpretation of what they see in the sunbeams and rock.
Although Cape May County has many wonderful God-made sights, including the ocean, bays and birds, most of us have seen and enjoyed these almost to the point of taking them for granted. That is not so when you view new and wonderful vistas of sizes beyond our imaginations.
Our tour guide Mike was correct when he spoke of the Grand Canyon as beautiful even as you are looking down into depths that our eyes cannot measure, but it is nothing in comparison to the Zion canyon, where instead you are enveloped by the mountains and looking up at heights previously unknown.
There were many sights to see and many people to meet, as we had 28 others on our tour. Eight days was too short to get to know everyone well, but it was what we had in common that drew us together, and that was a desire to see these earthly wonders of the West.
We did meet and chat with locals who earn their livelihoods in tourism, just as most of us do. They too admitted to enjoying the slow season best! One woman I spoke with said her parents retired near Bryce Canyon. When they became ill she moved to the area to care for them and ended up raising her children in a location she never dreamed of but came to love with all her heart. Another was a Navajo tour guide who sang to us, in his native tongue, a song he sings to his son at night so that his language will not be lost.
At every turn I saw and thanked my Father God for presenting to me His beautiful creation. On Palm Sunday I arose early to watch a church service where the reading of the 23rd Psalm exactly matched the rising of the sun over Lake Powell, Arizona. Is not our God wonderful!
Indeed He is.
“God bless America, land that I love, stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with a light from above. From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam, God bless America, my home, sweet home.”
Editor’s note: Amy Patsch writes from Ocean City. Email her at writerGoodGod@gmail.com.
