The Vastness

Wow – what a day!!!  I’m in Arizona with Louise.  We started the day as we always do when we’re vacationing together – lounging around, chatting.  When we finally made it out to find the visitor’s center and breakfast, it was lightly snowing.  Ok – not ideal for a day in the Grand Canyon, but I did my best to get her to agree that this is a great opportunity. 

Yesterday, the guy sitting next to me on the plane told me that seeing the Grand Canyon covered in snow is “a real treat”.  While we were mapping out our day, I told Louise, “This could be the most amazing day!  Would you ever plan to come to the Grand Canyon when it’s snowing?  How many people get this opportunity?  I bet it’s going to be gorgeous!”  And I believed it!  I really thought we were about to have a completely unique experience (and I was right).

We got there around noon.  It had begun to snow a bit harder, but we were determined to walk the rim.  We headed out, we got to the first overlook and we saw….nothing!  That’s right, nothing!  A vast expanse of clouds was preventing us not only from seeing across the canyon, but from seeing to the bottom and in some cases, from seeing anything at all.  The first picture I took of Louise “at the Grand Canyon” could have been taken almost anywhere.  She said repeatedly throughout the day that she felt like she was in the mountains in Colorado.

We took off walking anyway.  I mean, we’re here – what else are we going to do?  So off we went, all bundled up (as best as we could, since neither of us packed for snow), walking the rim, hoping that the clouds would clear and we’d see something amazing.  And we did (or at least I did).  I have been to the Grand Canyon before.  Granted, I was only a kid, but I remember it was big.  I remember it was beautiful.  I remember it was there!  So as I looked over the edge and saw nothing but white, all I could think of was how vast it was.

I pulled Louise to one of the railings and said, “Isn’t this amazing?”  (Insert Louise’s look of “are you nuts?”)  But I went on, “Ok, I know you’ve never been here, but there’s nothing out there for a long way.  Then across the canyon and as far as you can see, there’s beauty, and this cloud is covering it all up!  God has created this amazing world, including this huge canyon, including you and I.  And we’re important to Him.  But out there is this … vastness … and you and I – however small - are part of something so much bigger than what we’re aware of.”  I stood there in awe, because I only realized the enormity of it as I was explaining it to her.

We walked on, stopping at some of the overlooks we did get to see some beautiful scenes, but nothing like the postcards.  Not as red, not as majestic, not all the way across the canyon.  But to me, they were even more beautiful.  Not everyone gets to see something like this.  Even if you plan a trip to the Grand Canyon, even if you’re in awe of how amazingly beautiful it is, you may not get to see the snow covering the rocks.  You may not get to see the edge of the mountain fade into the cloud like someone drew it and then softened the edges to make it look like it blurred into the clouds.  I was in awe of the falling snow, the mountains and trees that we could see, the long drops that were occasionally visible, the vastness! 

I kept saying that, “Aren’t you amazed by the vastness?”  Louise was.  She wasn’t as intrigued quite as long as I was, but that could’ve been the blowing snow.  You see, it just snowed more and more.  The wind blew harder and harder.  I have one picture when there was a snowflake IN my eye.  Yet we continued to walk.  At times when I went out on a ledge (literally) to see if there was anything to see, I would stay there for an extra minute or two.  I looked out at the “vastness” and said a prayer.  I sent up a few private prayers and I thanked God for the good in my life, for the wonderful people in my life, for creating such amazing miracles (like the Grand Canyon) and for giving me the insight to be able to see the beauty even when it was covered in snow and clouds.