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Tuesday, May 6, 2008

ON A CLEAR DAY

Mount Rainier, Mount Rainier... I can recall one visit I made to our wonderful mountain-- I was overwhelmed by its height, how far one could see, and, despite the human hustle and bustle, I felt so very small and so very real... just part of our beautiful world...

And four years ago, on New Year's Eve, I recall standing on Mount Carmel in Israel--- looking past the busy city below, seeing the wonderful Mediterranean Sea, and watching, like the disciple of the ancient prophet, a small cloud rise out of the sea, slowly envelop the city and valleys below, then, come up the hill...

There was thunder, then heavy, heavy rain began to fall. And I thought of the moment in Scripture when, finally, as the prophet prayed, the long, long drought had ended.

Again, I felt overwhelmed... the beauty of the Mediterranean, the clouds gathering, the countryside below disappearing, and I just stood there in the drenching rain, so grateful to be part of such beauty, such power...
Here's a picture of Mount Carmel

So, last week, one sun shining bright morning, as Mount Rainier royally proclaimed
its presence, I just had to stop and catch that moment in a picture


There it was... the mountain, the city of Tacoma spread out below me, and on the busy streets, people were focusing in on the challenges--- demands, frustrations, hopefully laughter and joys of the day... and I offer this time for you, dear friends, to share with us moments of awe, delight, pain, or joy that you have found in this land where gracefully Mount Rainier presides over our ups and downs...

Enjoy my video taken that day sunshining morning

3 comments:

Lorraine Hart said...

I love the native name for the mountain...Tahoma...instead of Rainier...gives me more the feel of this ancient land, rather than young country.

It's good to have a mountain around to give us the right perspective on our size, especially when our own worries grow large in our minds.

Stephanie Frieze said...

Wonderful post, Joseph, and great comment, Lorraine. We are blessed with many young mountains in the Pacific NW. I suppose that each people believes their land to be special, but for beauty, I believe the NW far superior to anything the Middle East has to offer. The Great Spirit must love our corner of the world very much to have made it so beautiful.

Kim Thompson said...

I think I could gaze at Rainier for a long, long time, particularly on a crisp, clear, sunny, blue skied day. Oneal, where you live, you can gaze everyday--lucky you!