Day 637: Spring Canyon

by andrew

We’ve been near Deming, New Mexico for the last couple nights – paused for Sabbath – and tomorrow we continue westward towards California. Yesterday we took a drive around the area to explore the local parks. Such a fascinating place with the dry, arid landscape mostly flat but the occasional massive rock formations leaping into the sky and the interesting pueblo construction in most of the dwellings.

We drove up into a national park called spring canyon and arriving around 3pm were a little miffed that yet again the gate would be closing – this time at 4pm. We paid our $5 entry fee anyway and set out to see what kind of adventure we could cram into an hour. Bennah, Reayah and I managed to scramble several hundred feet up rocks and scree and cactus to an incredible view while Renee and the little ones tried to fly kites.

I still haven’t gotten the report on how that went because as we were slipping and sliding back down as safely and yet quickly as possible I became aware of two things. First:  in pushing to get to the top I had underestimated the time we’d need to get back down and we weren’t going to make it by 4pm. Second: there was another vehicle still there too and I had heard the echo of someone yelling earlier. It hadn’t sounded distressed, but it had ben from far away and I began to wonder.

Enough of the way back down to trust my two oldest in making it the rest of the way on their own I cut across the rocks and angled down to intercept the driver of the other vehicle who had slowly started up the canyon trail below.

It was 4pm. His friend from Texas had not returned and he wasnt in the kind of shape to go up in the canyon to look for him. I coordinated with Renee, got his phone number, and headed up the trail as fast as I could.

Some running, some walking, some climbing and scrambling later – probably a mile or so – I had been praying and thinking about 127 Days and periodically calling out “hello!?” – oh and there was no kidding this little skunk just a couple feet away that I didn’t notice until I was passing it and was thrilled I didn’t get spayed – finally comes this response from above me to one of my calls: “praise the Lord?” To which I responded: “praise the LORD! Are you ok?”

Turns out the gentleman was just enjoying creation without a care in the world and no idea that the gate was supposed to have been closed 40 minutes ago. He appologized for the trouble but I told him it was no trouble at all – I was glad he was alright.

He had been way out there even high up, and said he’d had a vision in a whirlwind. I asked him to describe it. He said:

“There are so many trees fallen down… People that need someone to lift them up and replant them… And there are so many with thorns in them…”


4 Responses to “Day 637: Spring Canyon”

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  • dad Says:

    thanks for going to search for the stranger and glad for the surprise at the end of the trail…and the vision shared…sounds descriptive of those cast down in the church system and in need of replanting into the sap of their hebrew roots, and perhaps the thorns indicative of the arrows lodged by satan into the hearts of Yah’s children through his ceaseless tactics to destroy…

  • lifefullj Says:

    Thanks for sharing the story… good reminder/challenge to us to go after ones needing help.
    Interesting vision you shared… I’m not sure I have the understanding, but it reminded me of a Scripture I read today (it’s shortly after the weekly Haftarah of the parsha). Because of where I’ve been focusing time the last several months and the Scripture, I thought of the replanting and restoration of the land of Israel, which we’re seeing in our day. Isaiah 7:10-25 prophesied of desolation coming to the land of Israel, particularly the Northern Kingdom (perhaps) as it speaks of Assyria, which historically did exile the people of the Northern Kingdom. It mentions thornbushes and weeds in verses 23-25. Yet today, thousands of years after the historical exiles, and after the desolation of the land of Israel, it is being built up again… including the replanting and reforestation, as well as planting of vineyards and olive groves. Shabbat Shalom!

  • uncle d Says:

    awesome!

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