A View From the Rim
After Christmas I took my family to the Grand Canyon. It doesn’t matter how many times you visit this majestic place, there is always a holy presence in its rough beauty, beautiful colors and bright blue sky.
The Grand Canyon is a 277-mile-long canyon and runs about one mile deep and up to eighteen miles wide. The canyon was formed by many different extreme conditions from ice, water, wind and natural erosion. It is also the home to two Native American tribes and is visited by thousands of people every year.
This visit was unique because it was with family who hadn’t seen the canyon before and also because it was in the winter. It was a chilly 36 degrees with a wind chill factor. The wind and snow on the path made our visit an adventure as we slid, walked carefully and shivered in the cold. But the wind and temperatures did not keep the people away. The area was still filled with people from all around the world in awe of this sight.
What is it that makes this a destination for so many? Is the beauty, the unique rock structure, or something else? Each of those are good reasons for each of us to make our way to the see the beautiful canyon, but it is something more.
As a regular visitor to the Grand Canyon this past December, it was interesting to watch the people look at the canyon. Once I watched a man stop in the middle of the trail when a clearing in the trees opened up a new view of the canyon, and the women he was with ran right into him. Another time I watched a woman walk right into a tree because she couldn’t stop staring into the abyss. In both experiences the people were ok. Again and again I watched the people become engulfed by this place.
I believe the Grand Canyon is one of those thin places where God invites you in to see who He is and once you do, you can’t stop looking for it. You see the Holy Spirit move through the canyon and the brush strokes of color on the canyon walls. You see the Father create in unique and beautiful ways, and you see Jesus with the people walking, talking and experiencing this wonder of the world.
We need places like this so that when we return to our everyday lives we remember the extravagance, wonder and beauty of our creator God. But God is in our everyday lives. Look around you and notice where God is present and remember the sights of Grand Canyon. Look, watch and wait for the ways God is showing you himself today.