Be There!
Lower Garnet Camp
I just completed the first river trip of the 2015 season. This was a magnificent 9-day expedition covering 187 miles of Grand Canyon. My good friend, Dr. Andrew Snelling, was my partner in serving 17 people from around the United States.
The morning of day 5 was greeted with great anticipation. We were about to drop into the upper granite gorge and run some of the largest whitewater in North America. The first technical class 10 rapid (Hance rapid) was rumbling just around the corner from camp. Beyond Hance awaited 40 miles of epic whitewater. John Wesley Powell had this to say about this stretch of river on his 1869 exploration.
“At daybreak we walk down the bank on a little sandy beach, to take a view of a new feature in the canyon. The river enters the gneiss! We can see but a little way into the granite gorge, but it looks threatening.”
The weather was a perfect mix of fresh air and warm sun. We strapped everything down, tightened up the life vests and set the rafts free for adventure. The boatmen were at their best that day and we laughed and oohed and aahed our way safely into camp at Lower Garnet.
This was a new camp for me and there was a small slot in the granite extending up to the Tapeats Sandstone that beckoned me to come and see the treasures hidden within. My heart raced with anticipation that manifested itself as a broad grin across my face as I made my way. I navigated up to find myself standing alone at the base of the Tapeats Sandstone. My eyes were not big enough to take in the beauty that stretched before me. My broad grin turned into a slight chuckle and then grew to a gentle laugh. The very joy of God was bursting forth from His creation around me.
I climbed higher until I was another 75 feet up into the Tapeats, seated on the lip of a dry waterfall (a place where water runs during the rainy season). My feet dangled playfully out over the canyon walls as tears (small tears) descended down my face. In that moment, I understood the difference between getting somewhere and being somewhere. God brought a verse to mind before I made my descent back to camp (to help make dutch oven lasagna).
“They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” Psalm 36:8
Don’t just get there, BE there!
Praiseallujiah!
Jon
