I am fortunate enough to live in the Western United States, where I can access many of the National Parks and some of the most breathtaking landscapes. I love hiking, driving, meandering, and just taking in all the amazing wonder that there is in the world, and thankfully so do my family. But to get to any of these places, we have to drive through miles and miles of desert. The closest National Park is 4 hours away, and many are 5-8 hours away. On those very long drives, it looks like there is NO WAY it will ever turn out to be anything but endless desert. I often think to myself, "How did someone discover this?" How would they have felt as pioneers, after traveling on foot for months through all kinds of ugly, barren terrain to come upon some of these amazing wonders? Along the drive I often wonder if we're going the right way, if there is really anything out in the middle of nowhere, and of course, my children have to call out "Are we there yet?"
 |
| Arches National Park, 2013 me and my sister, Heidi |
But of course, we eventually arrive, and the landscapes are humbling and breathtaking and inspiring, and I'm always grateful that I trusted Google Maps or the GPS, even though it seemed like there was no possible way that anything amazing was going to show up after so much desert.
 |
| Redwoods, California. Taken in June 2017 |
Life is like that sometimes. I have been having an "Are we there yet?" week, when I know I'm doing the right thing and on the right path, but it has felt so frustrating and mundane. Being a wife and mother is hard, even when married to a good man and when I have good kids. Taking care of the daily chores of life is hard. And honestly, sometimes it's not very rewarding, like a journey through so much wilderness. But I trust that God has amazing destinations in store for me, and so I try to hold on and keep going, despite that lack of inspiration. I feel like I should know how to enjoy every minute of every part of my children's lives, I've had such a hard lesson about treasuring each day, each moment with my family, because they could be gone any time. But honestly, sometimes I don't--I'm human. Taking care of sick kids, yelling at them to pick up their dirty socks for the 10th time, sweeping the floor AGAIN, trying to keep up with endless laundry, helping with homework for the umpteenth time is TEDIOUS, and hardly awe inspiring. Those moments do exist, though, when I am so excited, proud, delighted, inspired, and thrilled by my husband or my kids or by something I created or they created, some demonstration of love or kindness that I didn't expect, and I catch glimpses of beautiful "vistas" in my life.
 |
| Outside of Crescent City California, June 2017 |
On weeks like this one, I have to hold out hope that they're coming, because I'm still trying to do the right things, I'm still on the path that I chose and that I feel like God wants me to be on. If I just hold on, I know I'm going to get to see all kinds of amazing things come to pass in my life.
 |
| Bryce Canyon National Park, 2014 |
No comments:
Post a Comment