Ben scared the dickens out of me.
Both of our kids live out west, and we've begun trying to alternate between
them for visits. This year it was Ben's turn, so in July we vacationed with
him for a week in Crested Butte, Colorado. The day before we returned home,
Ben decided to take me two-tracking in his truck.
Now, two-tracking around here is not what I'd call dangerous. It's bumpy and
dusty and sometimes it's muddy, but the worst that can happen in a truck is
that you might get stuck. Ben lives 9,000 feet above sea level and mountain
passes can climb over 10,000 feet; two-tracking up there is something else entirely.
The dirt roads that zig zag up the mountainsides are full of hairpin turns and
lined with loose shale that evaporates beneath your tires, and when you look
outside the cab to check your footing there's nothing there - it's a sheer drop
down 2,000 feet, and if you slip off the road you don't even bounce. My hand
prints are permanently embedded in the hand grip inside the passenger side door,
and Ben just laughed. I'm not used to traveling up there - and Ben is.
We're traveling in unknown territory here at Good Shepherd, too, and it's bound
to make us a little anxious. For some of us, it is the unknown territory of
our lives after a birth or a death, a new home or a new job or the fear that
we'll lose that house or job or person we hold dear. For all of us it is the
prospect of a new building for the church - a permanent place for worship, a
permanent place for staging the ministries the church holds dear. So we battle
fear - fear of the new or unknown, fear that we won't raise the money, fear
that we won't be as close, fear that we'll fight about the color of the carpet.
I admit, driving to the top of those passes with Ben was terrifying - but the
view was majestic, absolutely majestic. At 10,000 feet, you feel like you could
almost touch the face of God - but you have to get that high to behold the majesty.
I believe we're climbing up to higher ground at Good Shepherd, too, my friends,
and I pray that you will lean on God for the courage to make the climb. We're
building something bigger than ourselves, for a mission that will benefit not
only our children but our children's children. Here, whenever we gather around
the Word and table and the font, you really can see the face of God
- and if you listen, you can almost hear him laughing.
Pastor Jim
God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we shall not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1-2
From the Shepherd's Song Newsletter -- August 2007
Copyright 2007 by Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
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E-mail your comments and questions to Pastor Jim in care of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at gslc@sirus.com.