The Rocks of Arizona

The picture at the top was taken several years ago in the Chicago-ish area of Illinois.   Nearly four years ago, we moved to Arizona, which has a markedly different vista.  If you like rocks, Arizona IS the place to be.  Some rocks, like the canyon lands, are beautiful.  If Arizona was a house, these would be the formal living room and dining room, where all the owner's taste and best pieces are placed and which are reserved for company, rather than everyday use.  Most of these pictures were taken by my husband, by the way, who is a far superior photographer than I am.

The Grand Canyon--North Rim, with the South Rim in the background

The Grand Canyon at Sunset from the Grand Canyon Lodge

Sedona

Phoenix is surrounded and spattered with all sorts of mountains, most of them in the "little, cute" variety--"montanitas" (Spanish for "little mountains).  If the canyonlands are the living room, these mountains are the spare bedroom or the attic or unfinished basement, where you put all the stuff you don't know what to do with, or where you throw all of your stuff when you don't have a lot of time to pick up the house for company.  The pictures below were taken from a New Year's Day hike at Pinnacle Peak in Scottsdale, AZ.

Could someone get a broom and sweep up all of these crumbs?

My hubby with the pinnacle behind him.  Doesn't it look like someone dumped a bunch of boulders, like kids dump all the LEGOs on the floor to find the exact piece they need for their creation?

Some houses and more peaks on the outskirts of Scottsdale. Tom Thumb peak is on of the little spikes. What a mess!

A stone junkyard

Of course, whenever we would pick a day to clean up the spare room/attic/basement, we would always find a treasure trove of pictures, old toys, long forgotten school assignments and other items that would bring back wonderful memories and create great stories for our family.  The stones scattered around the mountains, creating such a disheveled appearance also seem to tell great stories when you see them up close.  It almost makes you think that God carved them and placed them exactly where He wanted you to find them to tell you a story.  These pictures were taken on my iPhone:

Two rocks "kissing"

The rock on the far right reminded me first of  Darth Vader,  then Boba Fett 

This one reminded me of the troll dolls of my youth, the kind with the wild, bright hair. There is even an "eye" and "mouth."  Coincidence, design or my imagination?

Do you see a finger-shaped rock?  It is pointing to its designer (God).

So even though I would never classify Phoenix as the prettiest spot in Arizona, it certainly has character and even in the mess of the city and scattered montanitos, and the mass of humanity with all of its warts and scars marring its beauty, God reveals himself, His story, and His sense of humor.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” 

Luke 19: 37-40