The Permanent Landmark

The Permanent Landmark

3/20/13

All of us have referred to our life as a journey and it is easy to use this analogy when referring about one’s life.  We also use the length of a trip and weather patterns to describe our current conditions as we travel and none of can leave out the landmarks which we have past and use them as a reference point when describing road conditions.  It is these landmarks that we use to obtain short goals on a long narrow road and some of these landmarks we even totally ignore.  But we do have one landmark that always stands out to us and it is our choice to heed its information but watch out when the landmark is present that means there is something interesting just around the corner.

There is a road that my family and I traveled on many times during my life.  Since my father is a minister we lived in various parts of the country, which is a common trait of a preacher’s family.  However, that does not mean that other members of our family moved around like we did and in this case my grandparents on my mother’s side did not move very much.  They were farmers and had lived in the same general area ever since I could remember.  There were a few house changes but nothing to the extent of thousands of miles away.  They pretty much had perched in one of the more interesting parts of the country, in my opinion.

My immediate family and I had been witness to many parts of the country including California, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.  This is a limited list of places that I have lived but it will suffice for this article.  In each of these areas of the country meant another route that had to be taken when we had the opportunity to visit my grandparents in Colorado or Utah.  The destination was basically the same but the way we had to get there changed depending upon the way we were approaching.  What was amazing to me was that no matter which direction we arrived from, whether it was from the east or the west of the country we always ended up on the same highway, and same direction traveling on said highway, every time we made the trip.  It was just because of the geographical location of all parties involved that allowed for this trek to be achieved.

Our family did not get out to this part of the country very often but when we did my parents made sure that we spent a great deal of time with everyone out in the area.  The adults would talk about and discuss numerous issues while we kids would be outside playing either in the snow or out in the fields depending upon what season we were visiting in.  It did not matter how long we stayed or what the weather was all of us would always leave refreshed and satisfied about the visit.

The long portion of the trip was actually the travel portion and back in the 70s and 80s the numerous two lane highways proved to be very long to this kid.  I know that the rest of my family had similar thoughts and feelings but they usually accepted this fact and took the ride in stride.  As we would progress towards our destination certain landmarks would appear which would signal a response in all of us that we were that much closer to Yanyad’s house.  Each passing hour provided another familiar landmark and the passing through each city and town added to the coming excitement of arrival.

The amount of landmarks and natural scenes were and still are numerous to this day.  God has provided a wonderful view of natural creations for us to stare at and wonder about how they were created.  But there is one landmark that has stood out to me ever since I was a little kid.  It is not a natural landmark but a human made one.  I have never stopped to take a picture of this thing nor have I even found out what the landmark serves the land for.  All I know is that it is visible when traveling in both directions and it provides me with a sense of security and position like no other landmark has ever provided.

As I had stated above there really was no set time during the year that our family took a vacation, so we would make these trips to Colorado or Utah throughout the year.  And in keeping with the time of the year we would occasionally run into the patterns of Mother Nature.  In the summertime the rain storms would provide a soaking and large monsoonal rain drops that would slow our progress down tremendously.  The same patterns would occur in the winter time but in these instances snow would be the precipitation that greeted our arrival.  And I cannot forget the sunshine either for many of our trips to this area the sun was ever present and the ruler of the day.

As I reflect on the trips in which we encountered bad weather I can remember that all of us were a tad nervous about the road conditions.  Me being a kid I was constantly asking questions about the weather and generally bugging my parents about how much longer until we were there.  As I have grown older I have realized that this pattern was my way of dealing with my uncertainties about the trip.  At the same time I remembered all of the times that the weather was not factor but still bugged my parents with the how much longer questions, I guess at that point in my life I was being a typical kid.

After we had reached the Four Corners area of the country I knew that it would not be too much longer until we were in Cortez.  Back in those days Cortez was a small community but still had signs of life during the wee hours of the day and night.  This town meant that it was just a few miles further until we reached my grandparent’s house and freedom from riding in this car.  However, even though it was just a short distance to their house this last stretch of territory would always drag out and it felt like forever until we arrived at our destination.  This is where that one landmark stood out to me and as soon as we hit Cortez the idea of seeing that landmark would pop into my head and my eyes would constantly be glued out the windshield of the car waiting to find it. 

It was at this time with my mind and eyes focused on seeing the landmark that the travel seemed to be the longest.  It would seem like the landmark would never arrive and in my mind the journey would not be close to ending until my eyes saw the landmark.  What is most interesting about this landmark is that it on the top of a small hill so one would think that it would be easily recognizable from a distance.  But it is not visible in that way since there are many other small hills and valleys that one must cross before you reach this specific area, but once you reach it and you are paying attention to the road one cannot miss it.

Once you peak the hill before the landmark you can see the landmark if the weather conditions allow but in those times of bad road conditions you might not see it until you are right upon it.  The landmark is actually a large metal pipe that stretches above the road and crosses the road entirely.  As you approach it is actually looks like it comes out of one side of the hill, crosses the road and then goes back into the other side of the hill.  As far as I know it has always been there but I have idea of what service it provides other than the fact that when my eyes saw this pipe my mind automatically triggered that the journey was almost over and that everything was going to be alright.

Every human travels along a specific road that defines our life.  And everyone understands that life will always present obstacles in this road that makes life seem interesting at times.  There is no way that we can deviate from this road of life even though we try our best to complete this impossible task.  The road that we travel on is specifically set and we must complete this journey and it does not matter what the road conditions and weather report tell us.

When these bad road conditions begin to present in our lives it is a natural response to begin to look for landmarks that will help us along our journey.  It is a common theme for us to enter into a panic mode while we are beginning the looking process.  We are able to look for these landmarks because we have had the capability of noticing the surrounding landscape when our road conditions are good.  However, when times of stress or problems arise in our lives we as humans have a tendency to lose the grip of what is around us and focus on things that are right in front of us.  This too is a natural process and quite rational when times are not flowing as they should.

While we creep down our troubled road we begin to feel a bit more confident in the condition that we are in and we begin to search for some type of familiar sign that would provide us with a sense of direction and to allow us to know where we are exactly.  All we find is that the conditions that are affecting our roads continue to become worse and there seems that no end in sight.  All of the natural landmarks that we have previously identified we cannot see so we feel like we are all alone while traveling down this road.

This is far from the truth and what is sad is that many people continually see the one true landmark that can guide them through this harsh time but chose to ignore its beacon of help.  This beacon is the only landmark that one can recognize that will let a person know exactly where they are and will provide a path of safety no matter where they are located.  Every path a person takes and every road that a person journeys down this one true landmark will always be present, in good road conditions and in bad road conditions.

What is amazing is that most of the people in the world “drive” by this landmark and do not really pay attention to its message or its content.  They continue their journeys alone and hope that all will be ok, even though they understand that at some point in their travels problems will arise.  Not knowing about this landmark creates so many ordeals that could be avoided and simply knowing about the landmark and ignoring it might even prove to be deadly somewhere up the road.

No matter what the road conditions were when we are traveling down our roads of life, it is imperative that we know and recognize and be looking for the one true landmark that can provide us with safety, comfort, peace and exact location while we complete this journey.  That one true landmark is God and He has provided His one true landmark to guide us with all hope and covering for our journey.  It is a landmark that one can easily ignore if they wish but it is an all knowing landmark to those who chose to accept its light within their lives.

All of us can fit into one of the categories that I have mentioned and many more of us can fit into other categories that I have not mentioned but no matter what category you group yourself into God waits to restore that communication line with you so that you can heed the warning landmark as you approach the danger, see the landmark as you reach the danger and to follow the landmark as you pass through the danger.  And once you have completed the storm or bad conditions you can experience the restoration process that the landmark has to provide.  My advice to you is not to ignore the landmark that can save your eternal life and please do not scoff at its rays of light as you pass by it.  This landmark is placed there for a reason and that reason is because the creator of everything loves you and desires to have a personal relationship with you.

DLB