Out Our Way: View from the Tiger

Out our way, a common joke was the bumper sticker put out a few years ago for Montana that said, “There’s Nothing Here.” While supporting my ministry in Havre I worked the 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. shift at Walmart, and it was always fun to hear tourists talking with each other about the state and especially the Hi-Line. Many could hardly wait to get to the Rockies and west of the divide where there was “something to see.”

We, who know the area — who  have spent time in the Bear Paws, Beaver Creek, and on some of less traveled roads in the surrounding area — can only smile at their ignorance.  Granted, we don’t offer Glacier National Park nor Flathead Lake — but what we do offer is just as spectacular and awe-inspiring for those with eyes to see.

I have many fond memories of the land “out our way,” but my favorite tend to be working with Charlie on the “Tiger.”  The “Big Open” has a unique charm that is hard to find in the Rockies and Glacier. To ride up a ridge with the wind blowing the smell of sage, buffalo grass, occasional wild flowers, and the special “perfume” of cattle and horses is something you can’t get on Highway 2.  To ride up a yellowish-green slope and top the ridge with a blue sky uninterrupted from horizon to horizon. To look out 60 miles away and see a thunderstorm moving across the way — the tip of the Sweet Grass and the majesty of Haystack and the Bearpaws — all from one place. Charlie would point north and tell me that just where the sky touched the earth is Canada. He would point to the east and show me a place a few miles off that was the reservoir where we were moving the cattle that day. While Doc grazed, I gazed, and was amazed.

The Psalmist calls us to look around where ever we are and see the glory of the Lord. Granted, it would be harder for me to do that in New York City than on the Tiger, but I guarantee it is there.  For the glory of the Lord is always on display for those with eyes to see and look for it. Like many tourist on Highway 2 who are ignorant of what lies beyond the highway, many folks fail to see what is in plain view if they would dare to take a peek.

The glory of the Lord is to be found in nature, as the Psalmist reminds us — but remember that we, too, are part of nature. Like the sun, the sky, the mountains, the forests, and the prairies, we are also  God’s handiwork. I saw the glory of God in the Tiger in the vast vistas that surrounded me — but also in the marvelous symmetry I had with Doc, and, above all, the deep friendship I had with Charlie. His caring and sharing — and above all, his patience — were testimony to the Glory of the Lord to be found in a good friend.  

I recall a professor of mine at seminary, who had been the pastor of a huge church in New York City, told us about how he  vacationed every year in a small lake front town in Canada. One day, the lady who ran the bait shop asked him about New York City. She asked how many people lived there and he replied, “I’m not sure, but it is well over 8 million.” She shrugged and said, “It’s hard to believe so many people live so far away from everything.”

I understand what she meant — for, like her, I felt driving in and through the city several times “there’s nothing there.” And so I understand why folks from the big cities drive through the Hi-Line and say the same thing, “There’s nothing there.” And we are both wrong! The Glory of the Lord is always there — wherever we may be. We just have to seek, find, and receive it.

Blessings,

Brother John Bruington