How can you take in the Grand Canyon in a couple of hours? You can’t. But I did. On our recent trip to Arizona we had the privilege of witnessing this awesome landmark but only for a short while. It surely whet my appetite for going back sometime without the kids (who made great Jr. Park Rangers, but scare their mother half to death when they get within 20 ft. of the edge), for a couple of days of hiking and exploring. What is there to see without having to supervise toddlers? The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long and varies in width from 5 miles (8 km) to 18 miles (29 km). In the village area it is about 10 miles (16 km) across. The Grand Canyon begins at Lees Ferry, which is measured as mile 0 on the Colorado River, and ends at the Grand Wash Cliffs, mile 277. In the village area it is about 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) deep as measured from the south rim and 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) deep as measured from the north rim. There is a lot to see! From the publications available, they rangers would have you think that the Colorado River is responsible for forming this great chasm. However there are too many problems with these theories and no good explanations. Except from a Creationist’s viewpoint. Then you see it is a monument to the Flood of the Bible. One of many creationist geologists, Dr Steven Austin says: 'The catastrophic erosion of Grand Canyon (probably a result of drainage of lakes) was associated with river-terrace gravels, lake sediments, landslide deposits, and lava flows of the post-Flood period.' How can one stand there and deny the existence of God? We basically only had time to snap a few pictures and make one stop on the bus tour. As we waited for the bus to come I saw a sign saying there was a worship site 300 yards down the trail. It wasn’t service hours, but still I took off running by myself. I told my family I’d be right back and began running through a wooded area down a winding path, dodging those who were taking their time and trying to appreciate the canyon through the trees. I veered off the path every now and then and stopped for a better view of the world below. I ran for what seemed to be 300 yards, but did not see any structure or place of worship, until my eyes locked onto a small altar made of stones. I approached it slowly, climbed on top thinking of Romans 12:1-2- the living sacrifice passage. I looked out on God’s creation and simply worshipped. There were some song lyrics and psalms floating through my mind, but mostly it was just standing in awe of God and His creation. Not wanting to make my family wait or miss the bus, I headed back refreshed by a spontaneous, short, but very meaningful worship session with an audience of one. Upon arriving back to church on Sunday, I put a picture I took of the great divide as the song slide backgrounds. The first song we sang came from the end of Romans 8, where God says that nothing can separate us from His love-- not the farthest point of the Grand Canyon, to the opposite extreme, nor the place where we are to the furthest star. We simply get to enjoy the deep love of God as His preferred creation, and so stand in awe of His Majesty and Wonder.
posted by Gregory Fish @ 6:13 PM
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