The last several days have been filled with beautiful scenery and activities well outside the norm for Janet and me. Last Thursday morning we decided to go to Yellowstone, a fair distance from where we were staying, by route of the Beartooth Highway – a magnificent stretch of road from Red Lodge, Montana to the northeast gate at Yellowstone.
Now Janet and I have seen beautiful scenery before, in West Virginia and parts east, but I have to admit that this was an order of magnitude more beautiful than the places we have been. It turned out to be a very long day, as we weren’t in a rush and we wanted to enjoy the sites. The Beartooth Highway is closed much of the year due to heavy snow at 12,000′ elevations, but it had been open only several days and our resort was the last stop before getting on the route to Yellowstone.
Words can’t describe the grandeur of what we saw, including areas of snow more than 4′ deep, in early July, and every imaginable sort of rock formation, pasture, forest and outcropping. At one point, near the summit, where the temperature was more than 20 degrees cooler than when we began, we stopped to get out and look at the vistas from one of the roadside scenic areas.
As is customary on these sorts of trips, we were asked by a couple to take their picture with the white-capped mountain tops in the background. Of course, they returned the favor and soon we were chatting. The man, Chris, started quoting scripture and the magnificence of God’s creation. It couldn’t have been more perfect. Then we found out that he and his wife live in central Indiana thirty minutes north of Janet and me. Small world! And, he just happens to own a business that we have a need for – it’s the one time that I didn’t have a business card on me – of course, it always happens that way!
The verse for this evening is the verse that Chris quoted as we stood together admiring the handiwork of God. From Psalm 19:1, King David tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” I almost used the text from the NIV as I usually do, but it just didn’t do justice to the grandeur of what we saw, so today the verse is from the King James Version.
My encouragement this evening is that God always has a surprise in store for us – whether it is glorious scenery to take our breath away or somebody to quote us scripture at the very moment we are viewing the greatest sight one can imagine. My prayer is that you will treat these rare moments with dignity and respect – and offer praise to the God of the universe who created it all. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…