My Home... His Realm.

Well, it has been awhile since I have written here. Whether that is due to a lack of interesting topics or a lack of time, I'm not quite sure. I have been too busy enjoying my life over the last month or so to worry about blogging. I've spent time learning more about my job while my mom and siblings settle into their school routine. It's been wonderful to be with my family without having to worry about school or leaving for a job or the many other things that have consumed my time these last few years.

We drove to Nebraska this past weekend for my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. We had a wonderful time, though it was far too short... and the drive too long. 10 hours one way is crazy. I do not expect to ever complain about those nice 5-8 hour drives again.

It was on those drives, though, that I learned so much of God from the amazing beauty and great vastness of the plains. The mountains in Colorado are beautiful examples of God's majesty and strength. But only in the prairies do I ache for sheer happiness and peace. I was reminded by C.S. Lewis' description of Joy in "Surprised by Joy." He calls it "an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." Unsatisfied, because that kind of Joy--the kind where you ache while you have it and long for it when it is gone--is only a small realization of that purpose for which we were ultimately created; to know God and dwell forever in His presence. And for me, every part of the prairies speak of Him... and these thoughts were inspired as we drove.

As the wind whisps across the prairies, sometimes soft and gentle, sometimes rough and strong, I think of that Scripture where the Lord appeared, first as a "great and strong wind" and soon after as "a still small voice." In all the winds, strong or gentle, I know His glory and feel His love.

In the old country churches we passed, with spires reaching towards heaven, I was reminded of a great longing we all have for God. As the spires reach upwards, we ourselves are constantly reaching and striving for something greater than ourselves.

With the annual blazing fires, designed to cleanse the earth and prepare it afresh for new crops, I see the fire of His cleansing as He renews our land and prepares our hearts to worship. And in the billowing smoke that rises to the heavens, I see that worship as the saints praise His mighty name.

But it is the vastness of the prairie that reveals HIM as nothing else does. In the great, open spaces, I feel as nowhere else His open arms, stretched out to me in never ending love. It is in the endless plains, where I see forever, that I see best His eternal presence and greatness and glory. Gazing at the infinite sky and land, I know His sovereign might over all that is.

This beautiful, endless, vast prairie-land is mine to call home. But it is also eternally His. And so in knowing it, I come to know Him better.