"A Whole Lot of Nothing!"

Traveling from the Grand Tetons in Wyoming to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, we chose the quickest route, a 450-mile stretch of highway that didn’t look very interesting on the map, but would save us several hours of driving time. Since we were leaving a stunning mountain range created by God and going to an iconic American symbol carved by man, we didn’t care that this drive wasn’t going to be a scenic one.

When we stopped for snacks and bottles of water at a convenience store along the way, the woman at the counter confirmed our assessment and commented, “Well, you’re headed where there’s just a whole lot of nothing.”

But as we continued to drive, a whole lot of nothing turned into something really awesome! Rocky, red-tinted hills rocketed into a crayon blue sky, splotched with soft white, puffy clouds. Shades of green -- golden and olive and evergreen -- bracketed the muddy river flowing parallel to the gray of the road.

Everything changed to color. Would we have noticed the green grass on the side of the road without the red cliffs? Would we have noticed the muddy-red of the water without the green growth carpeting its banks? Would the sky have seemed so blue without the layered red rocks reaching to touch it? And the white clouds so puffy and bright without the blue sky they hovered in?

We had no choice but to stop and gawk and snap a picture as the color exploded around us. We had driven into a western art museum full of vibrant landscapes, and all that was required of us was to pay attention and clap our hands, expressing our joy and showing our appreciation to the Creator of the World.

And my husband’s comment? “Well, if that’s a whole lot of nothing, I want a whole lot more of it!”

You see, somebody’s whole lot of nothing can be pretty awesome!

 “…the mountains and hills will burst into song before you.”

Isaiah 55:12b