Today, is our last morning in Yosemite. With it being Sunday, we attend church in the Yosemite Chapel. The service definitely does not cater to a tourist crowd with its 1 1/2 hour length. There is a small crowd, but it is good to be in church and fellowship with others. The preacher plays guitar providing music for the classic hymns. He preaches on the importance of practicing love at home between husband and wife, parent and child. This, he states is the beginning of a more peaceful world. If we can learn how to truly love, forgive, submit, and care for each other at home. He really stresses the submit to each other as husband and wife which is something none of us like to do. What does that even look like?
As we drive away, I enjoyed Yosemite immensely, but the crowd was too much. There is a need for solitude in life. Time alone, time with God, time of quiet also quiets our spirit, our stress, our misguided longings. I don’t think creation at its best is a tourist site. You miss something, if it’s just a location to see. We are to connect with God and to connect with God’s world, and in this connection we find a deeper truth. We are a part of God’s creation. Just like the world around, we have been created masterfully by God. We are part of creation, and peace, joy, and contentment are more alive when you find yourself a part of what God has created and is doing. I greatly enjoyed Yosemite, but did miss out on some of the beauty of being in creation because of the crowd. Maybe that is on me, and I should be able to connect anyway.
As we arrive near Pinnacles National Park, that night before bed, I refer to the sermon, reminding each other of our call to love each other as family.