17. A Silent Song of Praise
R
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let your glory be over all the earth.
Psalm 57:11T
HATfirst day after hiking eight miles from the rim of the Grand
Canyon to the Colorado River below, my eyes had seen more
beauty than I could have expected. My body was trembling from the
punishment it had taken. Some kind person helped me put up my
tent and I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep like a rag doll falling into
a black hole.
Then at some point during the night I awoke to what seemed to
be a gigantic flashlight in my eyes. My heart was pounding and I was
unable to remember where I was. The source of light? The full moon
had arisen over the rim of the canyon and was perched just above
the unzipped flap of my tent.
Then I remembered and leaned back on my pillow, feeling the
strangeness of this new place. I let the impressionistic memory of the
day flow over me like colors on a canvas. The shades and the shapes.