ESCAPE THIS CRAZY WORLD

Each season carries its own unique spirit, but Fall truly stands out to me. This wonderful time of the year is almost here again. Fall is my favorite season of all. It brings a special charm that I love.

When the fall air is crisp, I will start my journey up a big hill deep in the country, away from busy highways and bustling cities. I love the mountains out west, but here in Missouri, we don’t have mountains, just big hills. This time of year, I love them too.

For a moment, I will stop and listen to the soothing sounds of flowing water as it travels down the hill from a cold spring. I will cup my hands and drink from the water. Then, as I glance over my shoulder. The sun begins to peek over the hills behind me. That means the curtain is rising, and I am not yet where I want to be.

My pace will quicken as I head up the trail. Then I turn onto another trail that winds its way to the top. My leg muscles always begin to burn as I climb over rocky areas in the trail. I will continue on.

Finally, there it will be. To some, it may be just an old stump where someone cut down a tree long ago. But, to me, it is like an old friend waiting at the end of the trail. I always remove my backpack, take out my thermos, and pour a cup of coffee. It is my time for stump sitting once again.

I come to this special place every year to escape the craziness of our broken world and talk to God. I don’t watch television much anymore, except for a football game or maybe a decent movie I want to watch. I do like the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. I enjoy shows like American Pickers, Alaska: The Last Frontier, and nature shows on PBS.

I do watch the local weather sometimes to help plan my day, but usually I will go to my smartphone, which is smarter than I am. I check temperatures hour by hour, or scroll the radar on my phone to see when rain or snow will come where I live.

I don’t watch the national news on television anymore. It always makes me mad or depressed. Local news is sometimes just as bad. Several weeks ago, I was scrolling through my smartphone and stopped to read a story about a young Ukrainian woman who had come to America to start a new life away from her wore-torn country. She was stabbed while sitting in a seat on a train in North Carolina. Sadly, none of the other passengers tried to help her.

A few days later, a story popped up about a man who dedicated his life traveling to college campuses across America, helping young men and women. He was shot and killed in front of his wife and two kids, as well as all the young folks that he was working to change their lives that day. What is happening in America?

From where I will sit on my stump, I am away from all that. I will look out before me and see a thin haze over the stream that winds through the valley below. Most years, there is a coolness to the air. Smoke floats through the valley from the chimneys of homes or from campfires. Crows call to each other on a distant ridge. A squirrel usually scurries through nearby treetops, breaking the silence. A bird is always fluttering around and usually lands in a nearby tree.

When I a there, I know that somewhere below in the fields, turkeys have flown down from their roost and are feeding. A doe and her yearling have probably joined the turkeys as a buck watches them from his hiding place. There is more than likely a camouflaged bowhunter sitting in a tree waiting for them to come near.

A kingfisher gives his rattling call as he flies through the mist over the creek below. He is probably fussing at a heron fishing for breakfast or at a busy beaver. My mind’s eye sees fish swimming around in their watery home, making dimples on the water as they feed on another floating bug.

As the sun rises higher. The show begins. The gray of the morning suddenly changes to a kaleidoscope of color. My eyes feast upon the bronze of the oaks, the yellow of the maples, the red of the dogwoods, and the green of the cedars and pines. The blue sky and the white of the fluffy fall clouds add a special touch to nature’s painting.

More folks need to take time to get away outdoors by themselves. Sometimes they need to take their spouse and kids with them so they can experience this too. We all need it in today’s hurried, pressured, fast-paced, technological world. It is a world where there are more bad stories every day, similar to those that happened recently. I am still praying for their families.  Enough is enough. This madness has to stop.

The outdoors can be an escape for a little while. It may not be stump sitting like I do, but you can find your own special place for doing it. Fall is a wonderful time for enjoying this magical time, but any time of the year is a good time to be outdoors in God’s creation.

When outdoors, all things of life begin to take their proper place. Big things become little, little things become big. Somehow, the outdoors helps you forget about work that needs to be done, bills that need to be paid, stories in the news, and other worries. They are all washed away by the cleansing action of the outdoors.

When the sun is high. Good stump sitting time is gone. I always finish my coffee, put the lid on the thermos, and put it in my pack. Before I put the pack on my back, I thank God again. He is the creator of it all. Then I take a deep breath and start back down the trail. After a few yards, I stop and look back at the stump. I know that I will be back to sit on a stump once again. But if not, there is always next year. My old friend will be there waiting for me so I can escape this crazy world.

                     SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

“Fall had tremendous possibilities. The summer’s oppressive heat is a distant memory, and the golden leaves promised a world full of beautiful adventures. They make me believe in miracles.”

                                                                                           – Sarah Guillory