The Peak of Inspiration

A couple of days ago we found ourselves eating a packed lunch with some friends in a grassy park.  The sun warmed our backs.  A gentle breeze freshened the air.  The grass was a vibrant green, the sky a brilliant blue, and the mountains clear and awesome in the distance.  For a few short minutes, we soaked in it.  And it was totally different than the days and weeks before.  The contrast was striking.

We have battled the wind on a daily basis.  Many of you can relate.  Here in the San Luis Valley, the dust becomes a particular problem.  The wind, the drought, and the sand conspire together to test our resolve to it’s core.  We lean against it and try to keep it out of our eyes.  We hear it hit the windows and we see it come around the doors.  We work twice as hard to get half as much done. 

Sitting there on the grassy slope, with some that have chosen to be our friends, I was struck with the richness and depth of the situation.  With the desert of wind and dust as a backdrop to the scene in front of me, I wondered what my impressions of the park would have been if this life had no variety, no extremes.  Would it seem 2D, black and white?  Would I have even noticed the textures, the colors, and the peace of that moment?

We love the mountains.  But would be appreciate any of their grandeur if we had not lived in the valley, driven across and survived the plains?  Would we have the fortitude to work through the summer day without the promise of a cool evening?  If discomfort and pain were not a thing, would refreshment and relief also be missing?

I’ve sat through services when my heart has been broken and fear has taken my joy.  I’ve sat in those same pews and listened to singing that heals and offers hope.  I’ve struggled to pay the bills, and I’ve had times when we enjoyed life free of that burden.  Many times people have helped us, and a few times we have been able to help others.  I’ve held newborn babies in my arms, and I’ve been there when death is in the forefront and life is the background.  I have needed comfort, and I have been comforted.  I have traveled, and I’ve came back home. 

Life has dimensions.  Contrasts that compliment each other. Sometimes we don’t like what’s in front of us.  Sometimes it’s what’s behind.  At times the background is beautiful, other times it’s a desert.  Perhaps on one side is uncertainty, on the other is promise.  Songs and prayers.  Notes together with words.  Salty and sweet.  The old leading the young.  The young making the old happy.   Mornings and evenings.  Sunrises and sunsets.  Shorelines and mountain tops.

Life is rich.  It’s meant to be experienced.  To be felt deeply.  It doesn’t want to be taken for granted.  To be rushed through and forgotten.  So take your time.  Grit your teeth in the wind.  Lean into the storm.  Savor the calm.  Soak in the songs.  Perhaps one day, in the next life, we can gather on a grassy slope, eat a little and talk about the desert we came through.  Enjoy this one, but look forward to that one.  Make it there.