Sunday Drive

Take a walk in the woods every once in a while. Feel the sunlight filtered through towering ponderosas, two hundred feet tall or more. Hear the rushing roar of rivers cresting rock strewn banks, swollen with snowmelt, pale green torrents of liquid ice. Walk paths overcast with whole trees crossing over, wend through the underbrush, see the ants scurrying, their body segments much larger here than in the city; here they look to be made of bits of juicy wild mountain blackberry.

Smell the earth. Breathe in the scent of freshness; clean, airy, light, woody, peppered with the spice of drying needles that crunch underfoot. Feel the river roaring nearby; shaking the boulders that stand on the sloping banks.

Be reminded of how we're quite small at the wrestling rapid riverside; under precipitous tree bough stabbing high at the winds in the air, where the eagles soar. And be reminded of how we’re also quite large as we stand high, stooping over the black ant, our head cocked to one side in curiosity as he goes about his business. Take time to stop along the way and see.

Drive your car on two lane roads. And slow it down, roll with all the windows open so you can smell the fragrances, feel the cool breezes, see the sheer sides of the canyon walls on which you ride. Don’t rush. The Sunday drive is an American tradition that’s older than cars. Imagine what it might have been like to ride in a horse drawn buggy. Take it slow. And when you see something amazing, pull off and stop. Get closer. Pause. Soak. Dip a toe in. You packed a picnic lunch, right? Good. And you brought the kids, too. Show them why their jaw should drop in awe, even now, even in this age of terminal boredom, when they behold the work of the Creator. Get up close and personal. See what’s to see.

Thank God for today, and trust Him for tomorrow. Live apart from regret by seizing the now; drink in deep, empty the cup today, for it is all we have. Life will keep happening to you until you begin to happen to it. Don’t sit at home. Get out and about. Take a drive in the mountains. Get right up alongside their roots, drive right up through the crevices, ride up their ramps into the heights, and behold the view from the summit. Feel the intensity of the sun up there and let it burn its warmth into your skin, and carry that into your next Monday. It will better you.