In His Glory

For only the third time I headed out with the cross I made a few years back from a tree I planted when my first son was born 25 years ago. When a limb died and I had cut it off, instead of burning it, I made a simple cross. This morning before sunrise I
headed out hoping to find a simple field in which to stand and photograph it. Nothing fancy. After a short time driving, as the sun was about to hit the horizon I found one and began the walk in with my gear and the cross on my shoulder looking for a place to
stand and balance it with two sticks I brought with me. Within minutes I was soaking wet with the heavy dew. Pricker/thorn bushes cut at my arms and legs. Spilled my coffee down one of my socks. I dropped the cross at least once as I fell into a small
hidden ditch. Then the mosquitos attacked. Found my self cursing out loud as I got up and continued to a small spot among the thistles. The sky was just right, everything was glistening, I had to get the cross standing. Ya....now where did those two sticks go? Back in the ditch. Minutes later and wetter than wet, cold and sweating, I found that the first time was a charm to get the cross to stay put. Until I turned my back and it fell, hitting my shin. Ten tries later it stood. And stayed. I got back to my camera, getting ready for the first burst of bracketed shots through the clouds of
buzzing bugs. Pushed the exposure button......nothing. Card full. Back to the car for my backup. Slipped back into the ditch and landed in more thorny thistles. Cursed a few more times. Ok, all set to shoot. Lined up the first set of shots......and the cross falls over. Frustrated as hell, sweat in my eyes, my skin itching, realizing I also had knocked over my coffee and that was gone, I straightened up, looked up in the sky and yelled "REALLY GOD!!!!!? And in that eternally silent moment a deer stood up
from the tall grass about 30 feet in front of me with the sun at her back glistening from the dew that covered everything. Funny how things come in focus so quickly. The pain and suffering that I was going through was nothing compared to what Jesus went through that day so long ago. It was as if God yelled back "REALLY PHIL?" After a minute or so the deer walked away. I took a bunch of shots and when I was done I put the cross back on my shoulder and my camera around my neck and then turned back to the
rising sun and said thank you.