Mountains In The Distance

Tonight as I drove home I saw a beautiful sight. It was a golden sunset with vivid purple mountains below it. As I looked at those mountains they got me thinking. Eternity is like those mountains. During the day, I almost never notice them. They are visible in the distance, but not very clearly. They definitely don't draw much attention. But when the end of the day draws near, and the sun sets behind them they become beautifully clear. They have such detail and I would look at them for hours if I could, although the sun sets quickly and I only glimpse them for a short moment.

Now that I have painted that picture for you, allow me to explain how they are like Eternity. Eternity is always there, if we focus on it we will see it brightly in our future. But most of the time our everyday lives get in the way and we just don't notice. However, as we enter the sunset of our lives, it becomes our focus.

Now I want to paint a new picture for you. Michael proposed to me on top of R mountain, it is a Butte that overlooks this same mountain range. At the time there was a thunderstorm raging in the distance. I could see the lightning flash behind those mountains and focused on the storm as Michael fumbled clumsily behind me trying to get the ring out of its plastic and into the box to propose. Now when I think back to that storm, I realize that it is very much like grief. It was turbulent, powerful, and dark. However, it helped me to see those mountains just as well as the beautiful sunset, at times maybe even more clearly. Grief brings eternity into focus in a way that nothing else can. I am often grateful for the way that this experience has changed my life. The ways it has forced me to focus on what is truly important.

This beautiful photo shows both the mountain range as I saw it tonight and R Mountain on the left of the Temple. To see it larger please visit Flicker.