I can't remember exactly when I fell in love with the mountains of Colorado in photos, but I do remember my first trip to Denver when I saw those mountains with my own eyes as they appeared on the horizon as I drove. They. Were. Majestic. They. Were. Breathtaking. They. Were. Peaceful. I only thought I grew up in the mountains all those years I lived in Tennessee. Please don't misunderstand me, the hills of Tennessee are stunningly beautiful, and my heart will forever and always be drawn to them. But that's what they are in comparison to the Rocky Mountains ... my beloved Tennessee mountains are but hills, beautiful rolling hills, but hills nonetheless.
For all the times I've driven to both Colorado and Tennessee over the last 20 or so years, I've always been struck by something ... the highways that line the gentle rolling hills of Tennessee have guardrails along the side, pretty much all of them do in fact. But on those gigantic 12,000-foot mountains in Colorado? Hardly any guardrails anywhere, at least in the places I've been, and that includes Trail Ridge Road, which is the highest paved continuous road in the United States ... did you get that? No guardrails on Trail Ridge Road ... sheesh. I'm well aware that terrible accidents can occur should a car venture off the highway on a hill in Tennessee ... for that matter, terrible accidents can and do occur on flat, hill-less roads every day. But seriously? If your car veers off of a 12,000-foot mountain and plunges into the steep canyon below, short of a miracle, it's a pretty good bet that it's not going to bode well for you. And should you survive the fall and find yourself lying at the base of the canyon, there's a big chance that a wild renegade moose will come along and try to eat you. And for those of you who are thinking it ... the moose eating you is not irrational thinking at all ... those moose can be really mean when they're hungry.
In my previous post, I mentioned that last Sunday at church the preacher began a series called Guardrails and that he said some things in his sermon that hit home with me. I don't care much for when that happens, by the way ... when I go to church and feel like every word the minister speaks is directed to me, like he can see inside my heart somehow or that he's reading my mind. He began by giving the definition of guardrails and then listed three places where guardrails are present ... on bridges, on roads where there are lanes of traffic traveling in opposing directions, and on curves ... yep, curves. As he talked about roads that curve and turn, my mind instantly flew back to my drives through Colorado and the switchback curves along the mountain passes. Just when I would think the road ahead would be straight and level, I would encounter another series of turns in the road that resembled a slithering snake ... switchback curves with no guardrails.
As the preacher spoke about the curves in life, the times when you're traveling along in one direction and life suddenly goes sideways ... I can assure you that I could relate to every word he was saying. When he spoke about the importance of having guardrails in place so you don't veer off the road of life when it changes direction, I couldn't help but acknowledge that my own personal guardrails have gotten some pretty big dents in them over the last couple of years. In fact, if I'm truly open, honest, real and transparent ... some of the curvy roads in my life resemble the ones in Colorado more than the ones in Tennessee when it comes to the presence of guardrails. The more I think about it, the more I think it wasn't the preacher who could see inside my heart or read my mind at all ... I'm pretty sure it was God ... I'm pretty sure He's the One who put me in a chair last Sunday and had me listen to a sermon about direction and protection ... I'm pretty sure He meant for me to be unable to get the guardrails concept out of my mind ... I'm pretty sure it was God.
"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Ephesians 5:15-17
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