The Hills Are Alive

It was over 100 degrees, as it has been for days and days, when Maxim, three of the kids and I drove the scenic route to Kendalia, via Comfort. The hills were brown, but the valleys were holding on to green for dear life. I wonder if the pecan grove was irrigated, or if the stream along side it keeps the deep roots watered. As uncomfortable as the heat is, and wishing that things weren't so parched, including the driest Paluxy River I've ever seen (though this condition enabled us to see the dinosaur tracks better), I do not find reason to despair. 'The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of God lasts forever', and so do the hills and the rocks. Forever means in the lifetimes of trees and anyone else I know (except the dinosaurs). These hills have been there since I found Jesus at camp in Comfort when I was 15. I've tried twice on my way to Kendalia to drive by that camp, but it always takes longer than I think, and I don't get passed the triangle of highways at Comfort's entrance because either the burial service or Vespers is about to start at the Monastery. I don't despair at this either. Just getting to the edges assures me that it was not all a dream. The hills are still there even though much of the grass isn't.

As it turns out Vespers wasn't served Monday evening because of construction at the Monastery in preparation for a Bishop visit. So we walked down to the dried up creek and began to climb the hills on the other side, the dry grass noisily cracking under our shoes. Shortly, the girls said their Vespers shoes were hurting their feet. I wore tennis shoes with my dress and wanted to keep going over the next hill in the heat, but I had to turn back. Poor me, the tragedian. When we got back the girls made friends with another visiting girl between their ages and had a good time talking to her and teaching her to knit till it was time to visit Jamie and head back home. People first, hills around highways, camps, and monasteries second, I suppose.

(p.s. the video at the above link shows how the Paluxy normally looks.)