Living  out of the saddlebags on my bike and refilling with food and water along the way has given me a greater appreciation for those who settled this land. I almost feel like an explorer.  Except, they didn’t have smooth roads, coffee shops, motels or campsites when they arrived, laundry facilities or well made maps. They traveled through difficult terrain. Had limited knowledge of the weather or the conditions ahead.  They had to take each day on its own to keep moving ahead and deal with whatever was before them.   

I see signs and historical markers of those men and women who came west searching for land, gold or an opportunity for a better life.  They risked a lot in doing so.  I have seen towns that prospered and still are doing well  and towns that are now deserted or look to be heading that way in the near future. Railways built to harvest timber and now abandoned. Roads that have been remade because of landslides or floods.  Remnants of wagon roads along side the canyons and I wonder how did then even do that.   Followed by “I wish I had a mountain bike, I’d try that”.

This is a beautiful land but still full of folks who have to work hard to keep things going.  Snow, ice, rocks, heat and poor soil (compared to where we live for sure).  Most of the older folks (for reference think older than me…) look pretty worn out because of the work needed to make ithere.  

Here is the dichotomy…. In the midst of God’s amazing creation we find difficulty to survive.  Scenes that make you go “whoa!”…. Yet with a farmstead fallen in ruin in the foreground of the scenery.   Weeds overtaken the fences or a dry desert like area with little growing.  

This takes me to meditate on Genesis 3. Because of sin we will struggle to survive.  “And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3:17-19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Struggle in the beauty.  If there were no hope of an end of the struggle life would be much more difficult. Yet Revelation 21 tells us all will be renewed and made perfect again – for those who believe.  Just beauty in God’s presence as it was meant to be.  

Until that time…. Remember that life will be a struggle because of sin. But look around at the beauty of creation as a reminder that it will be restored. Until then, let’s work together in the toil. Realize bad/difficult/harsh days are expected and we should help each other during those times. All the while, telling the story of how God will redeem and renew through his Son Jesus for those who believe in Him! Admire the physical beauty but proclaim Him all the time. To God be the Glory!