Beauty, Destruction and Renewal

One week Matt decided that he needed a break and thought that camping would be really fun. So we put the camper up, cleaned it out, loaded it up and headed to Gunlock Resevoir. It was raining something fierce the first day and we wondered why in the world would we be subject ourselves to this weather (especially, when Gunlock is only 20 min away from home,) but we stuck it out, even with the roof leaking on the popup camper and we got payoff the next day! The weather turned out chilly but beautiful. We took the 4 wheeler up to these beautiful waterfalls that were created with the over flow of Gunlock Resevoir. This was for me the highlight of our trip!


Now, All around us on the ATV there was beauty and also destruction. Well, I was thinking about that, "How can their be beauty and ALSO destruction at the same time?" and I started thinking about trials and tribulations. Without the trials and tribulations, you would never know what joy was when it came because, all happiness and no trials does not show us the sweetness of the happiness. The same thing has happened with the destruction of the Flood from one year ago. As you can see in the pictures, the resevoir is at its highest, which is not always good, but it has also produced this beautiful run-off over the red rocks which has created such a beauty that it took my breath away when we first turned the corner into Gunlock. I had to see those water falls and so because of that need Matt took me out and let me wander around while he entertained the kids with a ride on the ATV. I had my trusty little digital camera, and headed out with the dog so that if something happened I wasn't alone and Matt could find me since the dog barks when things happen!

There use to be campgrounds all around the resevoir on both sides but after the flood the campgrounds are only on the side where the main road runs. I got to wander the uninhabited side because Matt drove right through the river....

I found before the waterfall a ton of downed trees which were becoming weathered and soft to the touch, but I also found mangled, bleachers (from the rodeo sight about the resevoir,) various household items and more trees.. This caused a clog over the dam, which is what created the movement of the overflow into the red rocks.

What is amazing to me is the Renewal that has happened! New trees have started to come up, flowers in places they never where before because people where always trudging through the red dirt and rocks, I found in the Renewal a hope for all that is good, all that is worth living for.
I understand that we can never take for granted what our Heavenly Father has given to us to make our lives beautiful, if life had no color all would be grey and boring, and I for one love all the many colors, sounds and smells of what we have in our little garden of Eden(southern Utah,) in this part of the universe!