The View

 

 

Along the Oregon Coast . There are periodic waysides . places you can stop and pull over to enjoy the view . And the view is spectacular. Thousands of people pull over each year and take photos of the majestic Vistas unfolding for them . If you want a photo like a thousand others its a pleasant place to do so . But what if your desire is take the Path less traveled , to find that view or angle that has enticed only a few ? If you look carefully at these way sides you can usually find a glint of a path , a suggestion of adventure .

I had stopped at an overlook ...near Cape Arago . The blue of the ocean was spread out like a carpet ...White flurries of intense action as waves broke on the torn rocks off the shore . IN the distance was Cape Arago Light House . the most inaccessible of all the Lighthouses on Oregon Coast . The Light house seemed to be teasing me ...just there beyond the reach of my lens ..but suggesting a feint to the Right would bring me closer . The viewing area was carved out of dense Salal Bushes . Thick undergrowth ...deer and elk forage . Here the Vegetation ran directly to the Oceans edge . With the Ocean itself and its rock strew beach 50 to 75 feet below me. Along this stretch of coast the Land surrenders to the Sea in massive avalanches.

Walking down to the view point I had noticed a well manicured path heading off to the right hand side of promise . My suspicion was that this might lead to another view point , one closer , perhaps less used , a better photo opportunity . The Path was wide , its surface paved with bark dust and shredded trees . But as I moved along it seemed to take me further away from the vista I had desired . The Path was safely moved ed away from the Lands edge , perhaps two three hundred years before the Ocean claimed this real estate .

The Undergrowth so dense I could barely hear the waves in the Distance . I had wandered down this stretch for about a half of a mile ..then I saw it . A slight disturbance in the undergrowth , a path leading off toward the Ocean. I followed the cut , for about 25 Yards and found myself on a cliff overlooking the ocean ..a clearing about 5 foot square had been worn down , by others that had come before me . The view was very nice framed by trees to the right and left of me ...The Light house still a Mystery to be solved later .

I found myself thinking of something Rich Mullins had written years before " I would prefer to live on chasm , knowing that if I fell , Gods grace would keep me , than count on my own piety and avoid the Abyss " or words to that effect .

I know we are to stay on the path , to avoid going to the right or the left ...But the scriptures also say its a Narrow Path . Sometimes the way that seems easy and safe....is just that . Easy and Safe . Sometimes we have to take a deep breath push forward into the unknown ...pushing forward , gazing over the Abyss ...confident of His Grace and Love .