Daily Word of Grace # 241 (May 14, 2021)
My parents are from Denver, Colorado and so three times when I was growing up in Virginia we took road trips to Colorado to see our relatives. The first of these trips was in the summer of 1976, when I was seven. While in Colorado we drove into the Rocky Mountains, which completely blew me away. One of my favorite albums at the time was John Denver’s Greatest Hits (1973)—featuring my all-time favorite song of his: “Rocky Mountain High”, which I played over and over again. In this song John Denver describes his transcendent experience of the presence of God in the magnificent beauty of the Rocky Mountains: “He was born in the summer of his 27th year, coming home to a place he’d never been before. He left yesterday behind him. You might say he was born again. You might say he found a key for every door. Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams, seeking grace in every step he takes. His sight has turned inside himself to try and understand the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake. And the Colorado rocky mountain high, I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky. Talk to God and listen to the casual reply, rocky mountain high.” As we visited the Rocky Mountains, so close to where my parents were raised, I too felt like I was coming home to a place I’d never been before. The Creator of these mountains is also our Redeemer, who understands that we too are seeking grace with every step we take. And as “the giver of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), God always responds with grace.
Love and Prayers,
Dave