by Pastor Jeff Holter

I wrote the article below for the EcoFaith magazine, however I believe we can hear the echoes with the invitation to wait expectantly for the Messiah. There is a yearning in our hearts to also await the day when all the world is changed by his arrival.

My wife, Joan, and I were invited to our nephew’s wedding this fall. It was a destination wedding to Glacier National Park. Our nephew and his wife met at work but spent their vacations traveling to national parks throughout the country. It was the end of the park season and we anticipated traveling through snow. Already we had determined not to fly out to Montana but to enjoy the drive through North Dakota and all the way to Glacier. I suppose that for some that sounds boring, but we wanted to take in the scenery of the central plains.

The route we chose was the northern route, going through Fargo and then taking highway 2 to Glacier. There is another route, going south and taking the freeway through Bismarck, ND. But then all one sees is traffic and endless pavement. What both Joan and I wanted was to see the terrain of the rolling plains. You can not travel at the speed of “not seeing anything” but you do see the creatures and native topography of these rolling hills. As you get closer to Glacier you begin to see the Rockies and the mounds of rocks jutting out of the plains.

As I recall our trip, what matters the most is the realization that what made the trip memorable was both the joy of the wedding, the nature, and natural world we encountered. Let me elaborate!

Sometimes no matter how observant one tries to be, you can’t guarantee the weather or wildlife are going to cooperate. The first day we drove up Glacier to Logan’s Pass. The rode is very narrow and the air is very thin. Still, when we arrived, we decided to climb to a mountain lake, about a three mile hike up a steep hill. After a mile and a half, thin air was getting the best of us. Darn aging! We decided that one and a half miles was absolutely OK with us and we started down the path again.

We had just stopped to rest when someone yelled “BEAR”! We turned around and, sauntering up behind us was a grizzly bear. We froze, until Joan realized our bear spray was in my backpack. Joan quickly dug into the backpack while I took out my cell phone and started taking pictures of the bear. It wasn’t hungry for Lutherans that day, and just kept crossing the path, moving toward other food. I have the pictures, and I won’t forget that experience. I keep thinking of all the beauty we saw on this trip: buffalo, antelope, moose, wild mustangs, so… many prairie dogs and one lone coyote who was also keeping an eye on the prairie dog village. This is a great country and our world can be a place of beauty and wonder and can still boggle the mind.

Our trip back home was also very meaningful. We continued taking the roads less taken, bringing us to a roadside parking lot for a needed stretch of the legs and some time to move around. Joan and I parked the car and walked down to the river which the road seemed to be following. The river was very low and water moved very slowly. The shore line exposed the river bottom where rocks with dried up moss and mud caked stones once shined when the water had covered them. We walked closer to the running water and realized we were not alone.

A gentleman came up behind us, taking a rest from what we came to find out was a long trip from Bismarck. We talked for a bit, sharing our mutual appreciation for the river and the beauty of the nature in front of us. That led to other disclosures: where we were from and the joy of having been at our nephew’s wedding.

The man shared why he was there. He and his wife were coming home from a doctor’s appointment. He relayed that his wife has cancer and things did not look good, but they always stopped at the river on their way home to celebrate the goodness of God and beauty of God’s good creation. He then told me that this river was actually very special because it was the river and location of the movie, “A River Runs Through It.” The movie stars Brad Pitt, and was directed by Robert Redford. However, when I remember that movie, I think how nature, in all its glory, can bring peace and wholeness when life gets crazy. When we are tested beyond our human endurance.

Nature is our healing. Nature is God’s way of putting things into perspective. It keeps us from losing hope. Nature’s resilience gives God’s grace a means to visibly show us how God is available to us. Holding us and giving us a place to renew our spirits. I believe this is God’s true testament to us. How we treat nature is our true testament we can trust God to be there for us no matter what. Enjoy your day, enjoy life and give thanks to God for God’s goodness endures forever.

Peace, Pastor Jeff