Hey! This One Relates to the Blog-Name!

For a week or so, the news has been following the process of a 'massive' generator on its trek through the Brazos Valley to Riesel's new coal plant. They have informed us that it moves about 1 mile per hour and would pretty much shut down the roads it travels on. We have been told that it is an awesome sight to see, that it is not done justice by its pictures. It is a, to quote some posters on the news site, "Once in a lifetime sight"

Today, I saw this thing. It was...a disappointment.

I've seen impressive things, man-made and God-made. Hoover Dam is impressive. The St. Louis arch is impressive. Exotic sports cars are impressive. Then, on a whole other level of awesome, I've seen the Grand Canyon and stood atop mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park, placed my feet in a sort of ocean (the Gulf of Mexico is only technically an ocean to me). This machine was nothing to write home about. (Yes, I am aware of the irony of that statement, but wait for it...)

Have we as a people become so excited about mediocrity that we celebrate lesser things? Graduation ceremonies at every grade level, a medal for every finisher, and a mentality that everyone is a winner or special in their own way seems to breed a desire for a level playing field for us all. Excel at anything and you make others feel bad, so pull it back a notch, drop it down a gear, slow your stride before the finish. I'm not in anyway advising bad sportsmanship, running up scores or rubbing in your excellence, but if you are great at something, be great.

And we must stop standing in awe of lesser gods. C.S Lewis said it best:

If we consider the unblushing promises of
reward and the staggering nature of the
rewards promised in the Gospels, it seem
that our Lord finds our desires not too
strong, but too more weak. We are
half-hearted creatures, fooling about with
drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy
is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants
to go on making mud pies in a slum because he
cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a
holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

So I refuse to stand in awe of a big, but disappointing generator. I would rather have my breath stolen by the Rocky Mountain vistas and chilled air. I would rather be mesmerized by the cascade of colors at sunset. I'd rather marvel at the work of God in remaking his children each day.

Let us raise our standards, and our dreams, to a level beyond our limitations, and into His presence.