The Fairyland Convocation
The victory of endurance accomplished yesterday spurs me on to walk amid the wonders of Bryce Canyon’s Fairyland trail. It is a trail of undeniable delights and the undulating ups and downs of the path.
We begin in the muddy, snow scattered trail above the valley of wonders and I begin with the gratitude. Gratitude for the richness of the view and company but, also, for a knee, still healing from an injury, yet able to traverse the towering tops of Zion Canyon. I feel wary but strong and follow our crew into the mud.
As I descend, the burn of my lungs yesterday is replaced by the burn in my calves. The sun is up in the valley, warming the juniper and releasing its fresh, well loved smell. It beckons me downward. The sky is once again a brilliant blue, the canyon in shades of reds and whites, I revel in the attitude of gratitude that fills my senses with God’s vast display of His handiwork. I think of Romans 1:19-20, “Since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities: His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made…” I am more than content as I allow the beauty of this place sink into my bones.
There are cathedral walls of narrow rock with random windows worn through by weather, gatherings of the rich hues of red and yellow pinnacles seemingly calling the congregation of hikers to worship. These are framed by the sometimes white dotted azure skies of the Southwest that penetrate to my very center. God’s Word echoing His invisible qualities. I walk in complete awe and amazement.
After several miles, I begin to feel an ache in my good knee. I am not surprised because of course I have been favoring it. I stretch and move it to work out the cramping and marvel at the tenacity of the other one. It soon becomes evident, however, that no amount of stretching is making a difference. It slows me as each step becomes more tenuous, requiring more and more effort. Joe finds me a tree root which he manages, with help, to extricate from a withered tree. It makes a light yet sturdy walking stick and empowers my ascent to the top. I use the sleeve of my coat to soften the sharpness of its edge and off I go.
I send my friends ahead acknowledging that my pace is intolerable to those such as Joe. They will retrieve the car and meet me at the top. As my friends disappear beyond my sight so does the sun in its path behind the clouds. I am left in the silence of the Fairyland.
My steps become a burden to me and I must stop every few of them to rest. When my grip on the walking stick causes my hand to tingle and hurt, I realize my attention has focused away from the wonder and onto the effort it takes to negotiate the pain. I have been trying to will myself up the hill. It is then I hear the echoes of the canyon calling me to pray, to refocus on He Who sustains me.
I am surprised as I look up to the stately sight of the castle like towering parapets. It is the Fairyland Convocation gathering before me to render wisdom and encouragement for my journey. They speak together in one booming voice.
“We have called you here today,” the fairyland towers exclaim, “to tell you of God and His glory.”
Each grand spire in turn imparting a piece of the story. Their voices lyrical and melodious yet different from each other.
The first is a soft, giggling whisper, “You would not be here today had not your leg slowed you and called you to prayer.”
The next, an older, deeper resonant bass, “Step by step as endurance forms, you reveal His Glory, evidence of Who God is, within you, put there by God Himself.”
And then a soft spoken Grandmotherly reminder, “Just as these canyons reveal the magnificent layering of time and beauty so do the steps of your life.”
“Each sometimes painful step, a reminder that the staff you lean upon guides and comforts you on the journey toward the infinite, displayed all around you here,” adds the next with a sturdy, firm authority.
“You are not alone though your friends have gone ahead,” says one with a bit of a squeak and is interrupted by another who, with childlike wonder, as if telling a just remembered secret, chimes in, “You are in the very double grip of your God like it says in John 10: 27-30.”
The last to speak seems to hush the rest. “He has made this wondrous place to echo His truths into your heart and mind and soul. These pinnacles, parapets, cathedral walls, and all, are messages to you.”
He pauses and is joined by the others: “God can be known. He is Infinite: without limit/impossible to measure. He is Eternal: existing without beginning or end. He is Incomprehensible and though He cannot be fully known, still He seeks to be known. He transcends all space, filling all space with His entire being: His goodness, love, power, grace and kindness.” “Look to the hills from whence comes your Help, for He is calling out to you this very moment.”
As they fall silent, their message reverberating in the canyon, I feel the words of the Psalmist emerge within me. How can this be true? How is it that this great place saturated with beauty, majesty and immensity, where I am small and hobbling, no more than speck in the canyon, unseen from the heights, how is it that these walls talk to me?
My answer begins as a low hum, all around me but crescendos, building in intensity until its melody is clear and resonant. It is the Fairyland Convocation singing:
“To God be the glory, great things He hath done,
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life our redemption to win,
And opened the life-gate that all may go in.
Come to the Father, through Jesus, His Son
and give Him the glory great things He has done.”
Ahh, I say with understanding is the love of Jesus which compels the rocks to sing. Some do not hear them, others refuse to recieve their message but for some, small and hobbling, His message among the rocks is loud and beautiful.
He is mindful of me because He wants to be. He wants to be known by me and though God cannot be fully known, still His truest desire is to be known. He has gone to great lengths to get my attention. He wants your attention too. Will you choose to hear Him?
Tripping with God: Stories of Faith and Inspiration 