Family Reunion

Family Reunion

We just returned from a family reunion with our sons and their families in their Oregon home. We flew into Portland and drove the 300 miles south to their Medford retreat. High up on a foothill slope we found our son’s home secured on rock. The 100-mile panoramic view is over snow capped mountains and a fertile, fruit tree filled floor. Miles of dense Douglas firs like the ones in my cousin Douglas Frank’s photograph above surround the pedestaled landscape.  

We have come to love the Northwest’s rugged rock and rich green scenery. Between the mountains flow wild rivers and crystal water falls chilled by snowfields above. Blackberry bushes line every highway ready to quench and scratch your desires. It is amazing to consider the snowcapped volcanoes rising high above the verdant valleys. In the area is Mount McGloughlin, one of the “Seven Sisters.” Near Portland we saw Mount Hood and Mount Rainier as we flew out from Seattle. These peaks soaring above 10,000 feet and are surrounded by 100s of smaller volcanoes and hot springs sourcing from the earth’s fiery center.  As magnificent as it is there is also the reminder that it might just explode again soon, blanketing the region with toxic fumes and lava. Yet we can only live one day at a time, enjoying the view.  Yet, I chose to consider Isaiah the Prophets words, “You go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the filed will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:12).

We returned to the lush green Midwest, full of trees and pastoral hills surrounded by the expansive Great Lakes with blues like the Pacific Ocean we left behind. Yes, God has created it all to declare His glory and proclaim the work of His hands for our enjoyment and awe filled worship.