YNP Reflections

I was looking back at my Yellowstone National Park journals a couple days ago when I got the idea to write an entry about my experiences in the center of God’s majestic creation.
In what were the best three months of my young life, I learned more about myself, my God, and His grace than perhaps ever before, and if I may, I would like to share some of my thoughts and reflections on my time spent in Grant Village.
Grant, the southernmost development of Yellowstone, is a most spectacular place on the West Thumb of Lake Yellowstone. The lake is breathtaking; to the east is a tree-covered mountain rage which is the stage for some of the most beautiful sun rises these eyes have ever seen. The shore is made up of course, black, volcanic rock that isn’t much for making sandcastles but presents a stunning contrast to the cobalt water. The lake in combination with the varied wildlife and excellent fishing makes Grant Village a place of stunning beauty only a truly almighty God could form. An hour or so (depends on the amount of tourists) to the south is the jagged and rugged Grand Teton mountain range. The Tetons, like no other mountains, have no foothills. They are just daggers of rock spanning 15 miles of extraordinary landscape. With a river running through and a handful of glacier fed lakes at their base, these majestic skyscrapers assemble a splendor that no lens can capture and no canvass could do justice. These are my experiences in such a wonderful place.

I’ve always dreamed of living in the mountains surrounded by the Creator’s handiwork. I talked of going to Montana since high school, never thinking my pipe dreams would ever come to fruition. But, on May 18th, my dreams would become reality. I drove my 1992 FULLY LOADED Olds 88 Royal with 210,000 hard earned miles through the North Gate of YNP, my home for the next three months.

I had been to Yellowstone in the summer of 1988, a month before a fire destroyed nearly one-third the park. Unfortunately, my memories had long passed, with only a faint recollection of being chased by a bison remaining. Indeed, this was new land for me, sights my eyes had never beheld, and let me tell you, those eyes were opened WIDE!
My first stop was the indescribable Mammoth Hot Springs, after some obligatory paper work, we were on our way two and a half hours south to Grant. The terrain on our journey was unbelievable. It was much of the same I had seen throughout Montana, only intensified ten times. Most of the rock was at a 90 degree angle; I could see where the rock was shifted, uprooted and forced vertical - an obvious effect of the flood. Gen 7:11 reads, “the underground waters burst from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky.” It was in driving through this land that it dawned on me, “I cannot describe the elation that is in my heart! It’s amazing how much can be learned from our God by looking at His creation; or, more specifically, these amazing landscapes that were created out of His wrath and anger over sin (flood). What a paradox - beauty out of rage” Grace takes on a whole new meaning when you’ve seen His power - I mean I know who my Savior is and the thought of His bloody, criminal death is gut-wrenching and motivation enough to live a life of service. But to see His creation in the un-adulterated (or as close as the 21st century allows) state is a wholly different perspective on His grace and mercy. “To once again think that it was by God’s wrath that this wonderful landscape was formed is reason to fall on your knees and proclaim His name! You have a dying Son in the name of selfless love, and jagged mountains and flowing waterfalls from the heat of wrath - and all of it, every single atom for you and me! Oh what a mighty God we serve!!” I wrote that after only nine days in the park. The best was still to be seen.

What an amazing place Yellowstone is, and to be able to live in the park was a blessing beyond words. I was surrounded by immaculate beauty. The skyscrapers of Minneapolis were replaced with snow topped mountains, the highways with Bison trails, the radio and TV with cricket and songbirds, and the city glow with the glow of millions of stars and a moon clear as glass. What a place!

I went on to write: “In nine days Christ has brought me into His arms and hugged me closer than ever before. He has revealed to me more of His sanctifying love then ever before - or, more likely, these things have always been in front of me, and I’ve always been this close to Him, but I wasn’t looking. I am a wide-eyed child here, because it is new and exciting. I had grown cold and complacent in the cities and it was hurting my relationship with Jesus. Now, the trick is not letting that happen again - because no matter what, this place too will become routine. It is the man of great faith that can take the routine and turn it into wide-eyed childlike worship.” Therein lies my new outlook for life: coming back to the “Heart of Worship”.

I was in Cody, WY one Saturday night after a rodeo (there’s a rodeo every night during summer!). I was sitting outside my hotel just looking at the stars when I heard the wind pass through the Aspen trees surrounding me. If you have never heard an Aspen in wind they are pretty cool! The leaves almost look like a spear head - a shape that catches wind perfectly. Then they wave back and forth hitting against each other causing them to clap in a most curious way. It actually can get quite loud.

I later found out that rarely are Aspen found alone- they only live in groves because they are a congregational tree, that is, they share a root system. Where you find one Aspen, there are ten sharing the same network of roots. After the 1988 Yellowstone fires destroyed thousands of Aspen, ecologists were concerned that they would be permanently eradicated. Then, a few years later, single Aspens began to grown miles away from where they were previously found. It appears that the fire’s heat caused the seeds to close very tightly, and the wind spread them all around the park! The fire actually helped spread the seed, thus planting “families” of Aspens all over the park, rather than in just one area.

I can’t help but look upward when talking about the Aspen. We as Christians have the privilege of sharing a root system, deeply rooted in Christ; we are a congregation, sharing a network of roots going to the source of the Living Waters. Our worship is caused by the Wind, that is, the Spirit. The Spirit Fire has a way of spreading us apart, so that His seed may be planted all over the world. It is amazing! “Evangelical Aspen” showing us how to worship. Complete Spirit-driven worship, no wind - no worship. Psalm 104:4 “He makes the wind His messengers, flames of fire His servants.}

In Luke 19, we see the account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The Pharisees were upset at all the cheers and praises to Jesus’ name and told Him to quite His disciples. Jesus told them, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:40) I have yet to hear a rock sing, but I’ve heard a tree clap in true and pure worship. Without the wind the trees cannot clap, just as without the Spirit we cannot praise our Lord. Praise be to that Wind and Fire and His creation!

It was hard to make the 2 1/2 hour drive to the closest Lutheran worship service, but I did twice a month. The Aspen got me to think, though. What is worship? Is it a song? Is it a sermon? Is it prayer? What is worship? Is it something to be done for an hour (maybe even an hour and a half!?!?) on a Sunday morning and then never spoken of again until the next week? Worship is the act of glorifying God, the “ardent devotion” according to Webster. For me worship was a once-a-week thing, no more, often less. But after basking in His creation, after sitting through an Aspen worship service, I simply cannot limit my worship to an hour on Sunday.
The praise song “ Heart of Worship” comes to mind.
It says:
“When the music fades, and all has passed away, and I simply come.
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless Your heart.
I’ll bring You more than a song, for a song in itself is not what You have required.
You search much deeper within through the way things appear,
You’re looking into my heart.
I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus.
I’m sorry, Lord for the thing I’ve made it, when it’s all about You…”

Worship is my time devoted to God. It is more than a song, it is more than a Sunday morning service, it’s my LIFE. God wants me! He hears my songs and words, but if I give Him just words, it is nothing. I get to give Him my all, my everything, my burdens as well as my successes - all is His. I’ve made worship everything BUT admiration for Jesus, but now, I’m coming back to the Heart of worship - Christ!
With all of my heart, with all of my might, I offer myself to the God of my life. I worship You, Almighty God! Paul urges us to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:1). Being in Yellowstone transformed me. It is my prayer that I will be able to worship, to edify my Savior with every step that I take. May I always live my life as a living sacrifice that I can put off this sinful world and bask in His never-ending mercy. I will fail day after day, but my life is more than a song, it is a symphony to the Most High, may HIS name be magnified!

Psalm 8: “When I look into the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the moon and the stars which you have set into place - what is man that you should think of him, the son of man that you care for him? For you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.” Through His creation we are driven to worship, through His word we see that He has given us the crown of life in exchange for our lives. It is in that promise that I find hope, and in His arms I find rest. His name be praised to the ends of the earth!! Alleluia!