On a Hill Far Away
I love the spring season. It is a time of rebirth as the natural world awakens and revives after going dormant in the winter months. Days get longer, flowers begin to bloom and warmer weather allows us to spend more time enjoying the outdoors.
Many of us tend to stay indoors as much as possible during the long, cold winter. As spring arrives and temperatures rise, it feels good to put away heavy coats and step outside in lighter clothing. The warmth of spring makes it easier to enjoy a myriad of outdoor activities and reconnect with nature.
Daylight saving time is here, and the sun lingers longer in the sky. There are more hours in the day to get outdoors and appreciate nature. Those longer days provide opportunities to enjoy the wonderful days of this special season.
Feeling the sun on your skin after harsh winter conditions is refreshing. Beyond feeling good, sunlight offers numerous health benefits, including helping the body produce vitamin D, improving sleep patterns and boosting serotonin levels in the brain.
Spring brings the return of animals that hibernate and birds that migrate during the winter. The cheerful chirping of birds and local wildlife is a reminder of nature’s resilience. Spring is also a season of new life, with many animals reproducing. You might come upon a baby rabbit, fawn deer or other young animals while outdoors enjoying spring.
One of the best parts of spring is that beautiful wildflowers dot the hills, valleys and fields. Colorful dogwood, redbud and other trees are everywhere. Trees that shed their leaves in the fall showcase new growth in spring. Budding leaves are everywhere. They add to the charm and beauty of spring.
Spring’s milder weather makes it the perfect season for outdoor activities. Hunting for turkeys or morel mushrooms is on the minds of some people. Others are excited about spring fishing, canoeing or kayaking on lakes, rivers and streams. Campers and hikers will also be out there.
My thoughts this time of year are of a special hill in the Missouri Ozark Mountains, with open land on top and surrounded on all sides by forests. A creek winds through the valley below. It is less than an hour’s drive south of where I live. I have been there many times over the years. From the top, I can see for miles in different directions.
I have hunted on that hill with family and friends. Deer come out of the national forest nearby and cross the field. I still go there this time of year to look for mushrooms on that special hill.
I used to hunt turkeys from there with my son and grandkids, until they got older and busy with their own lives. I got older, too, and that ended. Sometimes, I go there with my turkey calls and no gun, just so I can hear their gobbles echo through the hills. I love that sound.
We also rode our ATVs along the hill and into the many trails in the forests. I would make new trails to new places. One day, I found an old road grown up with trees and followed it down to the bottom. Where the trail crossed a little stream, I found an old wooden wagon wheel that had fallen off many years ago.
Another time, I found a place along one of the many bluffs around that hill where Native Americans had once camped. I could still see blackened rocks from their campfires. I also found pieces of arrowheads where they made their hunting arrows.
On the Fourth of July night every year, several of us would ride our ATVs to the top of the hill to watch fireworks displays from all the many towns that stretched out before us. During autumn, we would drive up the hill again to enjoy the fall colors stretched out before us like a patchwork quilt.
I have also camped on that special hill. From there, the stars looked brighter and it looked like there were more of them. Maybe it was because I was closer to them than from down below in the valley. Moonrises and sunrises also seemed brighter. Rainbows were more colorful.
I loved sitting around the campfire and listening to owls talking to each other in the dark of the forest. Coyotes would sometimes join the chorus. While watching the flames dance, I would reflect back on my life. I wasn’t always the person I should have been. I made mistakes. I messed up. I am thankful to God for not giving up on me. He changed my life for the better.
My time on earth will be coming to an end in the not-too-distant future. None of us really knows when our time here on earth is over. I have thought about going to that hill on the Saturday before Easter and camping out. I have always wanted to create a cross out of trees and stick it in the ground right where the sun comes up over that hill on Easter morning.
In my mind’s eye, I see myself crawling out of my tent before morning and bringing the campfire back to life. As I drink my morning coffee, I sit there and watch a beautiful sunrise shining on that cross. You have the right to believe what you want. I personally believe Jesus died on a cross for you and for me.
My mind also takes me to the tomb where they rolled a huge rock blocking the entrance, where the body of Jesus lay after they took Him down from the cross. The next morning, the rock had been rolled away, and Jesus was not there. He was home with His Heavenly Father.
That story is not fiction, folks. Easter is not about bunnies, hiding colored eggs and candy. Those of us who believe that actually happened and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, will join Him in heaven one day. Many of us celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas. More importantly, there is the faith that He rose from that grave. In this broken world, we all need resurrection morning.
As much as I would still like to be on that special hill on Easter morning this year, instead, I will be at our church with hundreds of people who are there for our Easter sunrise service, celebrating the ressurrection of our Lord and Savior.
Churches near where you live will be doing the same. I hope you will be there. To me, the most important thing that ever happened in this world is the empty grave and an old rugged cross on a hill far away.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
“I know the resurrection is a fact, because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one of them was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it were not true.”
- Charles Colson
Larry Whiteley has communicated the great outdoors across American for over 40 years through newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and a nationally syndicated radio show. To read more of his award-winning stories, go to www.storiesbylarry.com. Email him at larrywhiteley2@gmail.com.
