I lift my eyes to the hills

Longmont, Colorado Vista

photo by Kent Mueller

I am struck by how often people select a landscape image to be featured on their Facebook Timeline page. A friend of mine from South Dakota, who is now living in Texas, selected a photo of an expansive, green grass, prairie and endless, blue sky.  A pastor from Massachusetts chose a photo of the rocky, ocean coastline. I selected a photo of Mount Meeker and Longs Peak, the "twin peaks" which dominate the skyline from Longmont, Colorado, my home town. Longmont is in the valley just beyond the farmlands.

This landscape was the backdrop of my childhood and youth--which anchors me, still, in place and time. Interestingly, the mountains didn't mean all that much to me as a resident there. But when I went away to college in 1980, then seminary, then two calls in Northeastern Ohio, the anchor of that landscape lured me back "home" in 1999.

Whether it be a mountain vista, or a meandering river, or an urban cityscape, the places of our childhood memory define who we are, what matters to us, and where we call, "home." When I "lift my eyes to the hills" I am at peace.

Kent Mueller
Director for Administration and Communication
Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA