We went on a road trip this weekend. We started in the capital city, and drove south. It was an interesting trip from the beginning, as someone had stolen our tankful of gas and gas cap while we slept during the night, so after re-filling and purchasing a gas cap with a lock and key, we were off!
The scenery outside of the city was just what I had pictured this country looking like in my head: dusty, dry, desert, big smokestacks and factories, and blocks of apartments with small windows, oil rigs sleepily nodding in the background.
But this is a diverse place, and nothing is monotonous. After the desert came the flatland. Long patches of land with just scrub bushes, and a few big towns that surprised you. Then suddenly came the marshlands. Huge swaths of brown marsh, stretching as far as the eye could see. Suddenly the marshland gave way to fertile fields, which gradually changed into vineyards, and added trees. The forest grew thicker, the fields grew richer, and then bam! Mountains! Beautiful mountains! After the flat marshland! Tree-filled mountains, blazing with autumn color! Reds, oranges and yellows clustered under the gray rainy misty sky. I suddenly felt like I was in the Hobbit and expected the dwarves to come marching underneath my nose at any moment. We continued driving into the mountains until we were above the treeline, and the rugged sweeping views were breathtaking! Even in the rain and fog. It was very remote, and there were a few shepherds out with flocks of sheep, and ten year old cowboys out herding groups of cows. We finally turned around outside a small village, and went to our cozy wooded cottage for the evening, after finding dinner in a little place back in town.
All of these scenery changes were so unexpected, and I would never have predicted from being in the marshland that incredible, breathsnatching mountains were just ahead.
On the way home, I was reflecting on our journey, and heard the Lord whispering to me that life mirrors that journey. Even when it looks like I may be in the marshlands forever, there are fertile fields just ahead, even though I don't know it. And beyond that mountains of incredible beauty, even before the fog and rain lift. It was an encouragement to keep trusting, and keep going, knowing that I am part of the vine, and my good shepherd continues to search out green pasture and will take me there, and home after that.
