POV Wednesday - Around the Bend

This past Sunday, my Daniel and I felt like getting out of town and taking a little hike.

But… it was raining. Dark clouds shrouded the mountains we can usually see on the horizon on a sunny day.

Does this deter Dan and Lori from embarking on another adventure?

Of course not.

We figured if it was raining at our destination, then we’d have the pleasure of taking a scenic drive, maybe explore a little via Pearl (our vehicle).

The trip takes about an hour. The closer we got, the darker the clouds got. We couldn’t see the mountains at all though their several-thousand-feet expanses sat mere miles away.

Our goal of taking a hike seemed less and less likely, so we opted for driving as far as the road would let us.

You see, the road turns into Beartooth Pass, a long and windy, not to mention scenic, path to Yellowstone National Park. But it’s usually closed because of snow. When we went to Yellowstone only a couple weeks ago, the Beartooth way was still closed. June. Still closed.

Since we moved here in September, the road has been closed. We have traveled it several times before and stopped at the large yellow gate crossing the road, dreaming of the time we could continue on down it, wondering what lie around the next bend.

As we got started, a sign told us the Pass was open as far as the MT/WY border. Fine. We’d go that far then.

The terrain looked vastly different than when we’d been there in winter – so green! And Rock Creek sprinted alongside with snowmelt waters. Beautiful.

We reached the point we’d never passed, and the gate was open! We drove on, anticipating what lie ahead.

Funny thing. It was nothing like we’d imagined it.

The incline started climbing right away, hairpin switchbacks that took us high in a short amount of time. Soon, the peaks that had a minute ago towered over us sat eye level across wide, deep valleys. Narrow edges between road and cliff began to disappear under banks of old, dirty snow. The rain clouds from below swarmed us, hiding the peaks and the valleys. We could only see the road in front of our car.

Then, we drove around a bend, leaving the familiar side of the mountain.

White out. I mean, I couldn’t tell the difference between the banks of snow lining the road and the pure white sky. Every once in a while, a buried street sign would peek over the top of the snow, allowing us reference to the depths surrounding us. The road was a complete snow tunnel now, at one point looming nearly two stories high. The curl at the top even had long icicles dangling from it.

At times as we drove, the sun snuck through a ray or two, highlighting the mountains and valleys, casting shadows on the snow, giving us an expanded view of our breathtaking surroundings.

Oh, and the sign earlier telling us the road closed at the border was wrong. The road was open, and we had the pleasure to follow it several miles past what we expected.

Now, I hate snow. Well, the cold, and that’s required for snow. I’d much rather be sizzling somewhere on a sun-bleached, desert rock. However, this experience ranks way up there with all-time best. What a unique treat! Absolutely gorgeous.

It all got me thinking.

Sometimes what we’re looking for sits behind the rain curtain. You’ve got to go through it before you get there. Looking at the cloud and assuming it’s raining everywhere could keep you from going for it at all. But if you move around a little, change your perspective, you find that, like going behind a roaring waterfall, you can venture to the other side of the stormy weather and find sunshine.

Sometimes, the goal you think you’re reaching for alludes you, but going for it anyway puts you in just the right place where God gives you the experience He had waiting for you.

Sometimes the greatest blessings occur in the midst of the one thing you despise the most. Giving thanks in all things allows us to open our eyes to the beauty and majesty around us even if it isn’t the blessing we’d been searching for to begin with.

We don’t get to see around the bend. Sometimes, God permits us only to see what’s right in front of us, tunneling us so to speak. We get to see the beauty around the corner as we continue to trust and press forward.

Sometimes we encounter a sign that warns us that the road leading to our goal is closed. Let not these sign foster doubt! Press on, go as far as you can, and find out that you can go father than you ever hoped.

I could go on and on, but I think the point is clear. God is able to accomplish in and for us infinitely more than we might ask or imagine. (Eph. 3:20) And there’s a reason to give thanks!

(photos by yours truly!)