"With the praries I am calling out your name"

"Well the moon moved past Nebraska
And spilled laughter on them cold Dakota Hills
And angels danced on Jacob's stairs
Yeah they danced on Jacob's stairs
There is this silence in the Badlands
And over Kansas the whole universe was stilled
By the whisper of a prayer
The whisper of a prayer

And the single hawk bursts into flight
And in the east the whole horizon is in flames
I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name"
-Rich Mullins

In a way it's kinda funny. I've loved the lyrics to this song for a while now. Over a year ago I sat in my car with Susan and Beth in the parking lot at Cran-Hill with these words rolling over us, and we had one of those moments where you know Jesus is real and beautiful and big... and that you are just grateful. Just happy to be alive in this world where He is. Just glad to be created.

And, months later, this song has resurfaced for me. It's hanging on my wall next to pictures of my siblings, and camp, and this funny picture of Dale carrying the dog in a pouch.
These words are hanging there.

"How the Lord takes by its corners this old world
And shakes us forward and shakes us free
To run wild with the hope
To run wild with the hope
The hope that this thirst will not last long
That it will soon drown in the song not sung in vain
And I feel thunder in the sky
I see the sky about to rain
And I hear the prairies calling out Your name"

Part of it is that- counter to all previously expressed fears- Iowa is, in reality, incredibly beautiful. I'm still trying to put words to it. The best I can say so far is that there is a kind of nobility to Iowa's countryside. I'm not sure why yet, but the cornfields here look different than the ones I anticipated. They stretch out under the sky with their gentle hills, traversed through with gravel and dirt roads- opening wide beneath the sky. Sunset takes up a third of the horizon here. They just seem noble. Like they are somehow bigger and stronger and wiser than any cornfields I have ever seen before. Does that sound crazy? Probably. People in other parts of the world probably don't feel drawn to personify their cornfields... but, I'm telling you, Iowa just seems to invite this kind of thing. The countryside itself teaches me a lot about the strength and the humility of knowing you are part of something bigger and more beautiful than you can ever even fully understand.
"With the prairies I am calling out your name." So good. I'll take it.

So here I am, end of my first post. I should have probably told you about the wonderful family I am living with.... or the evolving Joy that this job is.... or about how I am doing with memorizing all these new names.... or about how funny the culture is here to a girl from the suburbs of Columbus (for instance- they are so proud of their state fair here.. Lori, the woman i work with (she's a gift!) actually won a World Record for throwing a rolling pin at this illustrious fair. woah buddie. Fair love. it's fun!! ) And hopefully I can get to those in my next post. For now, I will leave you with my ruminations on corn. Thanks for your patience with me.