September 30, 2022

My Journey to God

From atop West Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness, N.H., Squam Lake glistens while the White Mountains fade into the distance. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

From atop West Rattlesnake Mountain in Holderness, N.H., Squam Lake glistens while the White Mountains fade into the distance. (Photo by Natalie Hoefer)

More Than

Standing on the mountain top,
Perched atop a stone outcrop,
I cast my gaze upon the far-flung view.

Islands dot the mountain lake
Midst dancing diamonds, sunlight-made,
And soft peaks fade in black-gray, ombre hues.

Hundreds of millions of years it took
To form this scene on which I look,
A span of time I cannot comprehend.

Stories long and slow I see
Of crashing plates and ancient seas
And craggy peaks by many ice floes flattened.

Crushed I feel by time so vast,
Like nothing to a planet’s past.
I crumble from the weight of insignificance.

How unimportant did I seem.
Who was I in such a scheme
Of power and overwhelming magnificence?
Just then I felt a breeze embrace
My fallen self, my downcast face,
And lift me up ‘til I was standing tall.

“Of all the beauty that you see,
Of all the time it took to be,
Of all creation, however grand or small,

“Nothing is so dear to Me,
So adorned with dignity
As those who are in My own image made.

“My love for you is greater than
The lengths that past and future span,
Even when at times you from Me stray.

“Mountains, flowers, deserts, sky,
Sunsets, seas and nebulae—
All reflect My great and awesome glory.

“But you alone I choose to save—
My Son I sent to crush your grave—
That you may know My love for all eternity.”

By Natalie Hoefer
 

(Gina Langferman is a member of St. Barnabas Parish in Indianapolis.) †

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