“I first saw the dawn because we got there the night before and camped. I was spellbound in the silence, you know, because as it got lighter and brighter then you could hear the birds chirping and nature coming to life. All of a sudden, bingo! There it was, the sun. I couldn’t hardly describe it in words because words would be inadequate.” ~Frederick Grofe
NPR continued their interview; “Grofe used music, the language he knew best. Ferde Grofe knew how to use every instrument in the orchestra to bring his compositions to life. In the ‘Grand Canyon Suite,’ he evoked the natural sounds he’d heard on his visit there. He made the woodwinds sound like birds and the trumpets sound like crickets.”
Today, Palm Sunday, we celebrate Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey and I am reminded of Grofe’s depiction of the burros heading down the steep canyon trail. His coconut shell percussion helps me to imagine their heavy load and rhythmic stride. As we enter Holy Week, I can’t imagine what this week would have been like for Jesus. Where will this week take me? How easy it would be to turn around and travel away from the darkness or to fly above the deep canyon marveling at its beauty from high above, returning for the dawn of Easter Day. But you and I know this is not possible. We must journey through the desert to discover new life.
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
Bread for the Journey 